NaNoWriMo Diary – NaNoWriMo Eve

For some people the 31st of October represents dressing up in spooky costumes, getting a sugar rush and maybe watching some scary movies. For me the 31st of October means one thing: NaNoWriMo Eve. And yes, it’s just a little bit scary. I have a big task in front of me to write 50000 words in 30 days. How in the world am I going to fit in my word count around my daily life? What if I get stuck half way through the month and don’t know what to write? What have I signed myself up for?!

To help make the prospect of NaNoWriMo a bit less scary, I’ve been trying to get organised. So far I have:

– Written an outline with a basic plot arc so hopefully I won’t get stuck not knowing where the story is going. It’s like my road map for November.

– Got a reasonable supply of chocolate in the house. I can’t write without chocolate!

– Got my NaNoWriMo profile up on the NaNoWriMo site to record my progress throughout the month. I just have to remember to keep updating it as I completely forgot last year (I remembered half way through the month, it ended up looking like I hadn’t written a thing for the first 15 days and then wrote something like 25,000 in one day).

I still have stuff to get organised today! Still to do:

– Clean entire house so I can feel a bit more relaxed about getting writing done in those first few days and not have to worry so much about housework.

– Stock up on Coke and more chocolate today when I go shopping. Coke is the only form of caffeine I drink and I’m sure I’ll be needing it. Should probably also stock up on food for the rest of the family. I need to plan what meals I will be cooking for the week so I’m prepared.

– Make sure business paperwork is up to date.

– Write up brief character bios for main characters. I actually have very clear ideas of my characters already, especially in terms of personality, but writing down some key points about them will help me stay consistent (eg: eye colour, family)

– Make sure I have a notepad and pen to carry around in my handbag during November.

I’m not sure what the 1st of November will be like for me as a writing day. In Australia it will be Melbourne Cup day, although since I’m such a reclusive writer I have nothing planned anyway, so unless we get visitors it shouldn’t be much different to any normal day (except to sit down and watch the cup).

Are you prepared for NaNoWriMo? What are you doing to get ready?

(P.S. This is officially my 100th post on this blog! What better way to celebrate than to kick off my NaNoWriMo diary.)