Hello fellow writers! NaNo season is upon us and in just a few short weeks, we’ll all be off to write (or edit) a book!
This year will be my 5th year participating! As of right now, I’m still a little up in the air about what I’ll be doing. I just got feedback back from my beta readers about my first novel, and I need to do edits. I’ve also got a story that I’d love to start writing, so we’ll see what happens!
Today I’m sharing 3 things you can do to prep for NaNoWriMo that will make you feel confident when November 1 rolls around!
Related: How to Make it through NaNoWriMo
3 Ways to Prep for NaNoWriMo
1) Figure out if your a Panster or a Plotter (or a Planster like me)
Not sure what these words mean? A Panster is someone who writes by the seat of their pants, maybe you’ve got a vague idea and just roll with it. This is how I did my first NaNoWriMo several years ago and it was so fun! Plotters are just what that sounds like, they go in having a plot and a plan. These days I’m somewhere in the middle. I like to have main points to my plot, but nothing super specific for the first draft. I just wanna get the story out as it comes.
2) Carry a notebook around.
Maybe you already do this, but when I’m working on a new idea, I like to have a notebook dedicated to that story nearby all the time. I’ll write down random thoughts I have about the characters or sketch out a scene idea. Hear a song lyric on the radio that makes you think about your story or makes you feel the way you want the reader to feel? Write it down.
Having this notebook handy once NaNo starts is also super helpful because you can refer to your notes. I also use these notebooks to outline my stories.
3) Get excited!
You’re gonna write a novel friend! You’re going to sit down on November 1st with so many other writers and make this thing you’ve been dreaming about come to life! It’s gonna be messy and, heck it’s 2020, so who’s what’ll happen, but I promise that it will be fun! So get excited. Start telling everyone what you’re doing (partly so they’ll know to give you some space, and so they can get excited with you!)
Are you participating in NaNoWriMo this year?
Add me as a writing buddy on the NaNo website, it’s gonna be a great time. You’ve got this writer friend!
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