Feelin' Cute, Might Write A Novel: Shai’s #NaNoWriMo Prep List

I anticipate being home for the whole month of November from my muggle job. Being off is such a Catch-22; I’m excited for the rest, but I’m overly pleased that this month of inactivity coincides with National Novel Writing Month!

I'm going to try and complete the NaNoWriMo challenge. I have successfully won NaNo once maybe twice since I've been doing it since the mid to late 2000s.

That win/loss record (in NaNo term’s more of a complete/didn’t complete) is so embarrassing. I can’t explain why I haven’t done better because even though no one in my immediate family has a birthday or anniversary; life be life-ing for me during the month of November stealing my time and sapping my creativity.

I’m taking this NaNo more seriously than I have all the others in the past and I’ve composed a list of my best writing tips and tricks. Added some new ones I’ve schemed/liberated from other writers to make this my most successful NaNoWriMo ever.  

Without further ado, here’s my nano prep list.

1.     Accountability – In addition to posting my word count on the NaNo website, I’m also going to post to social media (daily). I fear the shame and embarrassment, and hopefully it will keep me on track.

2.    Candles – It has become a ritual for me to light a candle, then turn on music…

3.    Card decks – I have multiple decks of cards, and many of them I’ve incorporated into my writing. The first is Becca Syme’s Author Stuck List. Like any author who has dabbled in The Artist’s Way and/or The Hero’s Journey I have a deck of tarot cards. My bestie (the grownup lady one, not-my-under-the-age-of-two boy version) bought me a deck of empowerment cards for self-care, and they have sparked many mantras and affirmations for characters.  

4.    Coffee in copious amounts and a very large mug – Y’all know my brain doesn’t kick in until we’ve reached the bottom of a mug. I just added an extra-large canister of coffee to my grocery delivery order.

5.    Compression socks. – I think I’ve mentioned this before I can't work without them because if I sit too long and/or don’t take my blood pressure meds my feet start to swell like balloons.

6.    Craft books – I may have already done a blog post on these, if not I’ll do one.

7.    Creativity Toolbox – This is one of the things I liberated from another author, Sarra Cannon. It’s a group of items personal to you that spark the creative juices.

8.    Fresh flowers – They create a vibe in my office, and I feel like a soft lady.

9.    Line-item in my budget for my November coffee usage. There are days when I can’t write in my house, and I need to get out of Dodge. I’ll head to my favorite coffee shop, the library, etc. This budget will also cover coffee for when I attend in person NaNo events.

10.  Menu planning - This is something new I'm trying this year. I have menu planned breakfast, lunches, dinners, and even snacks enough for two weeks. If it works for the two weeks, I’ll repeat again to make it for the month. Instead of assigning each item a day, I’ve made a pick list, and I’ll tell myself “This is what’s here – pick from it” or the grown-up version of you have food in the house. Hopefully, by combining this with weekly batch cooking I’ll stay on track and on budget.

11.   My Tiddly Wiki – This is where I keep all of my or should I say most of my world building and character development information.

12.  My writing playlists on Spotify, after I light the candle, I select one of four playlists to fit the scene I’m writing. #Nerdland Mixtape. The boringly titled Romance Writing Music - RWM. Purge.  Strings.

13.  Planner – this is to help me stay on track with life outside of NaNo, and help identify the few non-writing days I have for doctor’s appointments, in person events, bills, etc.

14.  Podcasts – I compiled a list of my ten favorite podcasts (especially the ones I’m behind on like Scam Goddess). No television shows or movies or YouTube videos until I’ve hit my word count for the day.

15.  Rewards:  I’ve already picked my rewards for each writing level; I've only done four. The 5k, 10k, 25k, and 50k marks.

16.  Scene List – This is a list of all the scenes I need to write to complete a chapter.

17.  Snacks – If I snack hopefully, I won’t get distracted by my stomach. I’m making little snack boxes that can sit on my desk, so I don’t have to leave the office (or stop writing).

18.  Sticky notes – My brain runs on two tracks, unfortunately that means I solve problems while working on other things or have problems that I thought I solved come roaring back to the forefront of my mind. I can jot down a quick list, note to myself, or line of dialogue that doesn’t belong in the scene or even book I’m writing. I usually take a break to consolidate these in my planner later.

19.  Strict Workflow – is a Chrome extension that is a Pomodoro timer that blocks my distract websites like Pinterest, Facebook, etc. I can set this when I’m sprinting alone. For my phone, I have the Forest app.

20. Writing sprints – Sprints work for me for multiple reasons; I’m competitive and having others write more than me makes me a sour loser but also challenges me to write harder and faster. Secondly, the older I get the less I can concentrate for long periods of time without a break.