5 Tips for Preparing for NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow and if you are like many writers who make the commitment to write 50-thousand words in 30 days, you need to be getting ready.  There are only a few hours left to put everything into place, so if you still have things to do, here are some things to consider.

1. Get your plot prepared ahead of time. Whether you write by the seat of your pants (like I do) or outline, you should have something ready to get you started tomorrow morning.  If you don’t already have a plot outline in place, you can still get your writing done. You simply need to be ready to stay one step of your writing for the next 30 days.

2. Don't start out cold. Before you end each day, know where you will begin the following day. Have a couple of scenes prepared to get your writing started every morning.  If you hit a spot that where you can’t think of the next scene, then write one you know you will need later. You can always go back and fix it.

3.  Have your characters under control. If you haven’t prepared a character outline or profile, then you need to work on it as you go. Think of the various events you know will need to take place during your book and get an idea of how your character should handle them. That should help you get ready to write the scene. But don’t just write the scene.

4. Make yourself a character profile sheet. Keep it handy and add to it or change it as you go along and develop  your character. You don’t want the person doing something uncharacteristic halfway through your book.

5. Know your ending. Even if you end up changing it, know in advance what youwant your ending to be so you can keep working in that direction. Think in terms of a road map. You may not know how you are going from one location to another but you need to know where you want to end up. 

It may be too late to completely plot your novel now, but if you keep working ahead you can keep writing toward that 50-thousand word goal. Just think about it, every day the goal will be a little less.  If you hit your target tomorrow and the coming days, by next week you’ll be down to only 38,000 words to go! Good luck!