I'm sure you've all heard of National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. If you haven't, here's the quick and dirty:
Every November, you make a pact with the general community of writers around you to write at least 50,000 words for the entire month. To achieve this goal, you must write roughly 1,667 words a day. If you keep up with that, then you're likely to reach your goal.
In all honesty, the goal of NaNoWriMo is to get your creative juices flowing - to get you writing every day and hopefully you'll stick with the habit. Now the question is: do you know how to prepare for it?
Of course, everyone will be different. Your way of writing and preparing might differ, but here are some good starting points.
1. Find someone to be your cheerleader (and who you'll feel responsible to if you don't meet your goals).
This one is important because you need someone to lift your spirits when you feel like you're not going to be able to finish or if you're not inspired that day, but you also need someone who will push you when they know you're slacking.
2. Plan.
You are not going to get through NaNoWriMo unless you at least give yourself a tentative outline of what you want to accomplish this month. It doesn't quite have to be a novel - it can be character exploration for a novel you're already completing. Whatever you decide to complete, make sure you know where you should be at the end of the day or else you'll be frustrated.
3. Find resources.
The NaNoWriMo site has a lot of resources for you to use at your own discretion - how to edit your novel, how to build a character or setting, some things to help you explore those pieces of your novel and how even to create a plot. If those don't help, to the internet with you! There are so many sites that have helping hands for you to use because they want you to succeed.
4. Seek Advice.
Talk to veterans of NaNoWriMo. On the site, there are talk by actual writers who have used this method and written a novel that got them moderately famous. They write and then edit through the year. There are essays by these writers. Some of them have advice that could be useful.
5. Join a community.
If you use the site, you can find people that are in your region that can have get togethers, and help support you while you write. They're all in the same boat as you are, so you might as well lament with them, right?
6. WRITE.
Most importantly, prepare to write. And write your little fingers off. After this month, you might not want to write again (we all hope this is untrue, but stranger things have happened). It's a good exercise for your creative brain and in all honesty, you might find it exhilarating. All the ideas in your head are soon to be in a word document for you to be proud of. Go forth and write!
