Writers Write is a writing resource. In this post, we write about five things you need to do before NaNoWriMo starts.
When I read Anthony Ehler’s post about NaNoWriMo my first thought was, ‘Oh yes, those crazy people.’ But since then the idea has taken hold. I have seriously started considering it. It does put you under pressure, but for someone who has procrastination issues a deadline does wonders.
I’ve done the maths:
- 50 000 words divided by 21 working days = 2 380 words per day (Working Monday to Friday)
- 50 000 words divided by 30 days = 1 667 words per day (Working every day)
It can be done. The whole idea is just to write, but I find it hard to let go and not know where I am heading. Some people can write like that. I can’t.
5 Things To Do Before NaNoWriMo Starts
So here are five things I am doing before the first of November to get me going. It’ll be my first NaNoWriMo, so I have no idea if it will help.
- I need to figure out who the protagonist and the antagonist are
- I need to know what is going to happen to them
- I need to know where my story starts
- I need to know what kind of story I am telling
- I need to write a rough story timeline
None of this is cast in stone. I write it down in the beginning so that I have something to refer back to when I get lost. I am happy to ignore these if what I am writing is magically working without it, but they will get me going and they may get me back on track. It seems I am going to be one of those crazy people after all. I’ll let you know if it works.
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by Mia Botha
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