NaNoWriMo is right around the corner

“NaNoWriMo” is National Novel Writing Month. November. The goal is to write a rough draft of 50,000 words in 30 days. It’s not easy, but the non-profit National Novel Writing Month folks can help you make it happen.

Here’s my advice:

Before November

Sign up for NaNoWriMo at https://nanowrimo.org. It’s free!

Gather your tools (suggestion: laptop, MS Word, spiral notebook)

Decide if you’re a planner, a pantser or a plantser (see the website above for details)

Plan your novel (suggestion: use a recent bestseller as a template)

Genre (cozy mystery, space opera, medieval romance…)
Audience (teenagers, middle-aged women…)
Themes (How will it feel? What are you wanting to express?)
World (when, where, external forces, problems, opportunities)
Characters (short names; details, even ones only you will ever know)
Relationships (character-character, group-group, character-world…)
Plot threads (where planner versus pantser matters most)
Working title (required to get the NaNoWriMo stats)

In November

Bid your family farewell

Battle through your mental blocks

Update the details of your plan as you go

Every day report your word count and back up your files

Write the rough draft of that novel trapped inside you

After November

Well, post-NaNoWriMo is another discussion, but rest assured it will start with addressing the word “rough.”