NaNo Checklist

October is here, and that means NaNoWriMo is speedily approaching.  I know many writers are preparing to take part in the month-long writing craze, while others are hesitant, and others have decided to pass this year.

It's a daunting goal: to write 50,000 words of a story in 30 days.  But, I can assure you, it's quite doable.  A little preparation beforehand and some self-control during can go a long way.

Before: Pray

As always, we should bring our plans to God and ask His blessing upon them.  Pray that He would give you time to prepare and write the book.  Pray that you would be able to glorify Him through it all.

Before: Create Your Novel

This is the fun part, and begins the motivation to write.  Sign up or log in and create your novel on the NaNo website.  Put up a cover or a blurb if you have one.  Then share the word among your friends and family that you're going to attempt NaNoWriMo!

Before: Gather Your Intel

I hope you know what you need to do before you start writing a draft.  Some people write out the book chapter by chapter, or scene by scene.  Others just type up everything they know randomly into a word document and then wing the rest.  I like to do something in the middle - a synopsis.  I write out where I want the book to go (kind of reads like /and then they go over here and this happens, and so-and-so runs off to do something else and the rest head off to the forest/), but leave it open for change and even bunny trails.

Before: Organize Your Workspace

I find I like to save current WIPs to my desktop, where I can access them instantly, without having to go through a maze of folders.  Once I've finished using a file, I then store it away into the correct folder in my Documents.

Right now, I have a Scrivener file prepared for my NaNo novel, saved to desktop.  My synopsis is also beside it, easily accessible.  All my other writing material (drafts and such) is saved to Documents, out of the way.

Before: Finish Your Chores

Think ahead to November.  Is there anything you can do now so you don't have to do it next month?  Clean your room, get the fall clothing out, start the Thanksgiving preparations, prep some blog posts.  Anything that can be done now GET IT DONE.

Before: Get Your Reward

Bribing yourself can be very efficient.  Give yourself a treat if you meet your word count every day - maybe a YouTube video, five extra minutes on social media, or even just a piece of chocolate.  Have another reward every week, maybe something bigger: read a short story, bake some cookies, or just go outside for a hike.  And then prepare something big for the end - a movie, a trip with friends, or just let yourself sleep in Saturday morning.  Celebrate your milestones, but don't let yourself get too carried away.  Don't celebrate reaching your daily word count by watching a movie marathon - you can use that time to get ahead!

During: Pray

Continue to pray.  Pray that God would keep you from idolizing this story.  Continuing in prayer can help put this story where it should be - after God.  Make sure you're spending time in God's Word first and foremost.  If you're skipping morning or evening devotions so you can get NaNo accomplished, what are you saying you prize more?  God or the story?

If you complete NaNoWriMo, but haven't touched your Bible, it's not a victory at all.  Put the things of God first, and leave the rest to God's Providence.

During:  Use Your Chances

Have you made your word count and still have half an hour before bed?  Don't stop writing - keep going!!!  Had some plans canceled?  Use that extra time to write!!!  Get ahead whenever you can, so when you don't have time, it's not as stressful.  For example, Mondays are always the slowest evenings of my week - I can easily double my normal word count.  And I write as much as I can then, so if anything happens later on in the week, I can still meet the weekly word count needed.

During: Guard Your Time

I can so easily get distracted on social media.  So I have to make rule that I can't check it until I've reached my word count.  And even then, I can only look at it for five minutes before getting back to writing. 

(Tip: Timers Are Your Friend)

(When it's time to write, I pull out my phone and start the timer going.  Then it's like I'm on the clock.  I can't get distracted.  I have to write until I meet my goal.  And at the end of the month, I can view how much time I've spent writing and reading and working on specific projects.)

During: Don't Backspace

Three years ago, I was writing the first draft of Words of Song, and at one point realized "they wouldn't do this."  So instead of erasing all those words until I got back to where the story should be, I just...*hits enter button a few times*...started the next scene where things /should/ be and continued on.

Remember, you can fix things in editing.  Forgot about or added a character?  Just pick back up like they've always been there.  Realized one needs to go?  They suddenly vanish.  Hate where thee story starts?  Just forget and keep pressing on.  You can make changes later, right now, you just need to put the words on the page.

During: Save Your Work

There's nothing more discouraging that loosing part of what you've spent so much time typing up.  That happened to me two years ago.  I only lost about 400 words, and honestly, it wasn't even the word count that bothered me, but the fact that I can never seem to do justice to a scene when I'm rewriting it from scratch (editing an already put-down scene is easier).  It's almost as if putting it down in a word document erased it from my mind, and when the doc is lost, then I can't get a backup form my brain.

Lately, I've just been emailing myself copies of my recent WIPs instead of loading onto a Flash Drive.  (I've managed to loose two flash drives in the past month, so yeah...)  But since I have everything saved in an email folder, I can now access the doc anywhere - my laptop, phone, iPad, or wherever else I find myself.  I just need to log into my email and there it is.

But however you do it, SAVE YOUR WORK!!!