So it’s been roughly four years since my last attempt at NaNoWriMo. Mainly because those four years have been spent playing Mum instead. My last attempt in 2009 was a complete fizzle – I spent more time soothing a crying child and catching up on sleepless nights than nurturing a wordcount. This year however I’m claiming November as “me-time” and committing to getting NaNo done!
My prep so far:
– Told my family to block out November as “me-time” for Mum.
– Updated my account info on nanowrimo.org. My nickname’s LastDance on there. Feel free to add me as a writing buddy!
– Got my writers ideas notebook ready. It’s just a little notebook that fits in my handbag. Only a couple of pages of ideas so far, but fast adding to it.
– Picked up a copy of Chris Baty’s No Plot, No Problem for my kindle – for only $1.99! Now that’s a bargain.
– Downloaded Scrivener and gave it a whirl. I know it’s not necessary for NaNo, but it does look really cool and if I like it and hit the 50K word count I can purchase it for 50% off. They have a really great trial offer going specifically for NaNoWriMo participants – instead of the usual 30 day trial it will keep running until December 7th.
– Got some Rory’s Story Cubes to play with. These things are brilliant – never be stuck for a plot idea again! Aimed at the kids, they’re still good idea joggers for adults. I purchased the Android app – it’s like having a set of virtual story dice in your phone. You just shake the phone to roll the dice, complete with sound effects. My son loves them ๐ ย The app only costs around $2 and comes with two sets of 9 dice. An extra $2 or so gets you another set of 9 dice – so for around $4 you can have all three main sets of dice. Can’t wait to play with this one more.
– Attended a planning day for my NaNoWriMo Region and the Kick Off Party. Meeting other Wrimo’s is definitely the way to go – it adds instant motivation and assures you that anything you’re worrying about to do with NaNo, others are too. Even better – someone has probably got just the right advice or a ready made solution to whatever your worry or problem was about ๐
So, are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? Do you have any tips for preparation?