How I Prepare for NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo for short) starts next month! 2017 will be my fifth yeart of doing the event. There are so many great tips out there for how to prepare for a month of writing, but I'd like to share a few of my own. Hopefully you'll find at least one of these new and helpful!

Watch and Read Everything You Want to in October

This may seem simple, but for me it's an important step that frees up so much time once November rolls around! I like to make a list of all the Netflix shows and movies I still want to watch, as well as the books I've bought that I've been meaning to read. Then, I will try to watch and read these things in October so I'm not itching to do so when I should be writing. Even if I don't get around to all of them, at least I know what to look forward to once November's over.

Create a Pinterest Board for Inspiration

The great thing about Pinterest boards is that they don't even have to be public. What I do before November is create a new secret board where I can pin anything that inspires me, so I can refer back to it every time I get stuck throughout the month.

What kinds of things you'll put on the board will probably differ depending on what you're writing! I like to pin lots of Youtube videos -- of songs that go with my novel, or clips of films I'm drawing inspiration from, etc. I might also pin quotes from books I've read that make me want to write. Even reminding myself of books I've read in the past can open up a new train of thought that gets me out of an unproductive period. Lastly, I'll search Pinterest and the internet for any images related to my story. I'm writing fantasy this year, so I've got lots of images of pretty dresses and palace interiors!

Create a List of Ideas/Consult Tropes

Some time before November, I'll open a new Word document and start adding ideas to it whenever they come to me. These can be as simple as "takes place during the holidays" or as complicated as an entire plot outline. Most of them fall somewhere in the middle, such as premises, possible character struggles, or character dynamics that interest me.

Also, you'll probably hear this a lot from me, but I'm kind of obsessed with Tvtropes as a resource for complicating a plot. Open the link, search for your favorite piece of media, and see what tropes it uses! You just might find something you want to include in your own story. Here are links to some of my favorite tropes:

1. Chekhov's Gun (or skill or gunman)
2. Not Brainwashed
3. Mobile-Suit Human
4. Once More, with Clarity!
5. Becoming the Mask
6. Meaningful Echo (or Ironic)
7. Tomato Surprise (or Tomato in the Mirror)
8. The Unchosen One

Start an Outline

This isn't mandatory, of course (many NaNo novelists are "pantsers"), but for me writing is always easier if I have even a loose plan. Maybe you want to figure out character names and leave it at that. Or you might have every single scene planned. It's up to you!

What works best for me is to start at the beginning and plot out the general movements of characters from there. If I know what happens in the middle, I might skip to this section and come back to the beginning later. What generally happens is that I fill in a lot of the beginning and leave much of the middle and end to be planned. This way, I feel confident starting out the month with a thoroughly planned beginning. This also lets me come up with ideas for the middle as I start writing, and big plot twists can come from a sentence I write on a whim.

Take Advantage of the NaNo Forums

I'm sure you've been there already if you've done NaNoWriMo before, but if not, here's the link.

The forums are certainly not only for November! I find them especially helpful during October, right after the forums wipe and while everyone is gearing up. They're pretty self-explanatory, but here are some threads on the 2017 forums you might find helpful:

1. Post a Synopsis, Get a Playlist
2. Worldbuilding Respond, Answer, Ask
3. Adopt a Title
4. NaNo Dares
5. Care Package Swap

There will certainly be more to explore as the forums start filling up, too!

Before I Go, Some More Helpful Links:

1. Writing Prompts Tumblr
2. Random Word Generator
3. Seventh Sanctum
4. Fake Word Generator
5. NaNo Prep: How to Make a Timeline

I will post again soon, but in the meantime let's all NaNo prep! November's going to be fantastic.