Prep Phase: Non-Writing Prep

With a week left to go, the last component - after writing prep and commitment - is the non-writing prep.

This is when you need to:

• consider your schedule
• consider your writing space
• check out your region on the forums and potential meet-ups
• plan for reduced chores/easier meals/etc.

Schedule

In order to write 50K in a month, you need to plan to write a minimum of 1667 words per day. Some days you will write more (check back next week for a post on buffers) and some days you will write less, but overall, you will want to average 1667 words. How much time it will take you to write this will depend on how quickly you write in general and on how much time you actually spend writing and how much time you spend thinking, plotting. 

Pull out your calendar for November, with your work schedule, your school assignment due dates (and build in time for working on those assignments), reading you need to do for classes, appointments, classes you're taking, childcare responsibilities, social commitments and so on.

Figure out which parts of the month will be quieter, when you can try to write some extra words, and identify those parts that will be busier, when you might feel lucky to squeak by with your daily word count intact.

Go down to your average week day and average weekend daily schedule. Do you usually have an hour or two in the morning to yourself? Maybe in the evening?  How about a lunch hour at work when you can handwrite a few hundred words?  Identify spaces in your day to day schedule when you can get some words down on the paper.

Writing Space

Plan now where you'll try to get most of your writing done. Maybe you're going to stop at a coffee shop on the way home every day for an hour or so. Perhaps you have a home office that will suit. 

Think also about distractions and minimizing them. All time you spend answering your children's questions, people-watching or checking out your Twitter feed will be minutes you're not investing in writing your Nano story. Plan your writing space to minimize whatever it is that distracts you the most. Write better in silence or with sound? Alone or with people around? Internet available for encouragement and quick research or will you sink time into playing Facebook games instead of working? 

Lastly, some people like to load up on snacks and writing totems. If you write better with a speciality tea in your mug or a bowl full of M&Ms, then buy them now. A writing totem - maybe a hat you will wear, a good luck charm to rub or a candle to burn - may also help get you into the mood to write. We'll talk more about settling down for writing sessions next week - but start thinking now about what you might like to include as part of your writing ritual and make sure there's a home for it in your backpack/at your desk/in your coat pockets, etc..

Nano Region

Your home region on the NaNoWriMo forums is going to be a great source of support and enthusiasm. Everyone there will either be doing Nano or has done it in the past. Everyone is excited about the event, and the forum should be a source of great positive energy. You'll also find information here about meet-ups that your local Municipal Liaison has prepared. Hopefully there's one or two taking place that you'll be able to attend. I find that my odds of completing NaNoWriMo increase when I have met other local people who are doing it as well. I think I feel obligated to complete my 50K when I know I'll be meeting up with other people who are trying to do it too.

Turn to your Nano Region when you need to commiserate, when you want to go out and write in the same space as other writers and when you want someone to brainstorm with. It's much easier to have a conversation in this space than, I think, the Nano forums at large.

Reduced Responsibilities

If you're in charge of cooking for a family - or just yourself -, try to plan meals for the month as much as possible in advance. This is not the time to try out a lot of new, complicated recipes. This is the time to freeze lasagna and cabbage rolls and casseroles in advance. It's a time for pasta with meatballs, for frozen pizzas, for breakfast for dinner (which I find is faster and easier to cook than most dinners). This isn't the time to roast chickens and turkeys, to make ratatouille or anything that requires an hour or two to prep. 

November is also not a good month to embark on a massive cleaning spree. Get your fall cleaning done before the 1st of the month. Plan to decorate for Christmas after the 30th. Do not commit to anything new this month - this isn't the time to become your kid's room parent at school, nor to volunteer at church or anywhere else. It may sound a little selfish, but you will have your hands full of 50,000 words. Load up on added responsibilities and obligations in the post-Nano-season (aka the other eleven months of the year!)


November is nearly upon us.