Help! I Don’t Know Where to Start: Ten Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo

By Chelsea Hindle

It’s October and the air of every writerly community is buzzing with anticipation. Why? Because National Novel Writing Month (also known as, NaNoWriMo) is coming, beginning November 1st.

But what is NaNoWriMo? Well, NaNoWriMo’s website describes the history of the program as follows:

“National Novel Writing Month began in 1999 as a daunting but straightforward challenge: to write 50,000 words of a novel during the thirty days of November.

Now, each year on November 1, hundreds of thousands of people around the world begin to write, determined to end the month with 50,000 words of a brand-new novel. You may know this mass creative explosion by the name National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo…”

Essentially, that’s all there is to it. A massive writing community comes together and attempts to write 50,000 words and/or an entire novel in one month, during November.

I know among the community here on Kingdom Pen, we have a diverse array of writers. Some of us have been doing NaNoWriMo for years, racking up an impressive streak. Others have never done it before, but are keen to give it a go. And some people have never heard of it before today.

However, October is known to the NaNoWriMo community as “Preptober”, where writers who are planning on taking part in NaNoWriMo start their preparations for their month-long challenge. So today, we’ll be looking at ten ways to prepare yourself (and your novel) for NaNoWriMo.

 Obviously, there’ll be tips in this guide that will appeal to you and some that won’t, so don’t feel pressured to take them all on board. Also, this guide works for anyone keen on trying NaNoWriMo out, and it’s not aimed at any group in particular. I hope the beginners, intermediates, and veterans alike can find something that works for you.

The Bottom Line: Having an outline will help streamline your novel writing and (hopefully) eliminate roadblocks caused by lack of direction.

2. Research

During the adrenaline rush of NaNoWriMo, where the entire point is to write as much as possible in 30 days, there’s no time to stop and research. Sure, we may think that we really, really need to know what colored socks were the biggest sellers in 1981 (I still don’t know the answer to this question, but apparently lace-edged socks were hugely popular), but do we really?

The fact is, as tempting as it may be to close your Word document to track down obscure facts about early French wines, or lace-edged socks, resist it. It will not help your word count. Trust me, I’m a chronic researcher.

Instead, you need to research before you begin NaNoWriMo. As you outline, make notes of potential facts that need researching, read some books, and note down things that could be important in a notebook or word document file. That way, you have a selection of important information that can easily be accessed during writing.

However, if you do come up with a question you want to be answered as you write, have a system for noting it down so that you can return to it later on. I choose to use a special section in my “Writing Bible” or just take notes on sticky notes, which will be placed in my notebook later on.

And remember, while it isn’t a good look to have hundreds of inaccuracies in a published book, nobody will care if your NaNoWriMo first draft is riddled with historical, scientific, or medical inaccuracies. These can all be dealt with in the second draft, or after the rush of NaNoWriMo.

The Bottom Line: If you’re writing a novel that requires a lot of research, do the bulk of the research before writing and leave everything else to the second draft.

3. Write Character Profiles

This step is often overlooked when talking about NaNoWriMo preparations, but good characters are essential to crafting a decent novel, and a great way to create good characters is to invest time writing character profiles.

There are plenty of excellent character profiles available online (TCK Publishing talks you through creating a great one and Story Embers has another fantastic one available in their free resources), but here’s a brief overview of things you should consider before you begin your novel.

First of all, I make a list of all the characters that will be major players in my novel and I assign them all an MBTI (if you prefer, you could use the Enneagram, the DISC, or even Hogwarts Houses, if that’s your thing).

Also, if you have any unnamed characters, give them a name! If you’re the sort of person who goes back and forth on names, choose a placeholder name and stick to that for the first draft.

Then consider your characters’ physical appearance. What do they look like? Are they black, white, brown? What color are their eyes? Do they like the way they look or do they struggle with body image issues? If you’re artsy, draw a picture of them. If you’re not, find face claims or Pinterest or Unsplash.

Now consider what your protagonists’ wants and needs are. The protagonist’s want is the goal they want to achieve, while their need is something they need on a mental or emotional level, without knowing it. For example, in The Hobbit, Bilbo’s want is to stay safely at home and drink tea, however, his need is for adventure, stepping out of his comfort zone, and forging deep friendships.

And what is the antagonist’s goal? What has pitted them against the protagonist? Are they looking for justice? Riches? Trying to start a war with Guilder for some unknown reason?

The Bottom Line: Comprehensive character profiles will help flesh out characters, add depth to your novel, and create a half-decent NaNoWriMo novel.

4. Create a Schedule

(Ahead of Time)

NaNoWriMo requires commitment and discipline, as we’ve already noted, and one of the best ways to do this is to create a schedule.

Since schedules take some time to become set (several weeks to several months), I suggest you prepare your schedule during Preptober. This will help you get into a predictable routine ahead of time, and make winning NaNoWriMo so much easier. Don’t leave it till November 1st to get into the habit of writing almost 2,000 words a day. Take it from me, this will only lead to frustration, exhaustion, and burnout.

Find a rhythm that works for you, experiment, change things up if they don’t fit with your work roster or family time, work it out until you’ve found a comfortable routine for yourself, your dog, and your housemates.

If you need some help with creating a schedule, check out this article on The Spruce.

The Bottom Line: Create a schedule that encompasses everything you need to get done on an average day, this will help you to set aside time to crush NaNoWriMo’s word count.

5.Find Little Things That

Make You Tick

Sometimes small things are the things that keep us going in life and bring us the most joy. And sometimes it’s the little things that drive us completely up the wall. We could deal with the kids running around, screaming, and the dog barking if only our chair wasn’t so dang uncomfortable.

So find small things that make you more comfortable or happy. Do you like having a blanket over your knees as you write? Do you like having scented candles burning on your desk? Do you find music or other white noise helpful or hindering?

Buy a box of your favorite tea. Keep some research books close by your desk for easy access. Buy the best quality desk chair you can afford. Invest in a standing desk if you find that helpful. Take five minutes every hour to get up and stretch or go for a walk.

The Bottom Line: Don’t discount the importance of small things. These can make or break your NaNoWriMo experience.

6. Create a Space

This tip can be complicated, depending on what your current living situation is. However, whether you live in a student sharehouse, at home with your parents, or in your own apartment, there are a few steps you can take to create your own space.

For starters, find an area you want to write in for 30+ days. If you already have your own room, study, or desk, then this step has already been completed.

Next, clean up your space. Move anything that makes it uncomfortable to sit there. Add a handful of the things you’ve already identified as making you comfortable and joyful.

Fiercely protect your space and don’t allow it to get dirty and cluttered. Build up of things that don’t belong there (coffee cups, burnt out matches, books, and unrelated papers) will just make your NaNoWriMo experience more difficult. If you struggle with keeping things organized and tidy there’s plenty of online resources that can help you out (The Order Expert has a great article on how to keep things tidy)

Also, don’t feel like you have to make your space particularly fancy. Any corner in your bedroom, living room or spare room will do fine. Even the laundry, if you have nowhere else to go! And if money is an issue for you, much of your space can be created cheaply, or for free. Desks, chairs, and bookshelves can all be picked up online, at a garage or yard sale, or a second-hand shop, usually for a fraction of the price they might normally cost. I once got a very basic, but well-built bookshelf for $10, just because I kept an eye out on Gumtree.

The Bottom Line: Creating a space for yourself will help you remain focussed, especially if you keep the space clean and organized.

7. Dedicate a Spotify or

YouTube Playlist

Numerous studies have shown that music can be effective in aiding people in their work and many writers swear by their trusty Spotify playlist. Study.Com has an entire article dedicated to the question of “Is It Good To Listen To Music While Studying?” and they have a lot of positive things to say about listening to music while working:

To summarize this article, music can improve focus on studying, providing motivation, and improving your mood. It can also aid endurance during long study sessions. Students have also said that music helps them with memorization, “likely by creating a positive mood, which indirectly boosts memory formation.”

Of course, not everyone finds music beneficial. For some writers, it is distracting or overwhelming, and that’s completely fine. But regardless of whether or not you enjoy listening to music as you write, I highly recommend creating a playlist specific to your novel.

If you find listening to music while writing pleasant and productive, create a playlist of instrumental music, or ambient noise that matches the general tone of your story. For example, if you’re writing a middle-grade fantasy story, you could try listening to John Williams’ fantastic score for the first three Harry Potter movies. If you’re writing a dystopian, you could try listening to James Newton Howard’s brilliant Hunger Games scores.

 Most studies (these can easily be found with a quick Google search) suggest that listening to music with lyrics while trying to focus on something else, greatly impedes the brain’s ability to function productively, so I suggest having two playlists, one for instrumental writing music, and one which I will get into in a moment.

If you do not enjoy listening to music, or find it stressful and overwhelming, I suggest creating a playlist for your novel anyway. Focus this playlist on songs that encapsulate plot lines, remind you of characters, or otherwise fit the general vibe of your story. By the same token, those who like to listen to music can have a similar playlist. This playlist can be put on to unwind and gather inspiration, before or after the day’s writing is done.

The Bottom Line: While the jury is still out on whether or not music distracts or aids the brain, a writing playlist can be beneficial for many writers and aid their productivity and inspiration.

8. Prioritize and Learn to Say No

I know this step will be difficult for some people and I respect that. However, this is an important general life skill that our society discourages us from learning.

If you are serious about writing a novel in 30 days, you need to be willing to make sacrifices. Prioritizing what is important to you and sacrificing less important things is necessary for day to day life—after all, we can’t do everything every day. It also means that you need to say “yes” to fewer things and add “no” to your vocabulary.

As Christians, we are called to serve others. However, we are still human and we are not—and can not—be expected everything, especially if we feel God has given us a mission in our writing. Even Jesus, as can be seen in the Gospels, often took time to rest and recoup. As a human, he had human limitations and even the Saviour of the World couldn’t heal, serve, and preach nonstop.

I know I personally sometimes feel pressured into doing things because it is “the good Christian girl” thing to do, or because “God would want me to do this”. However, we need to recognize human limitations and pray that God will reveal His priorities to us.

Of course, there should be limits to this. It’s not healthy to hole yourself up in your bedroom and write nonstop without ever leaving the house or seeing another human being. Or to say “No” to everything, just because you don’t feel like doing it. Some things are necessary and yet unpleasant; that’s just how it is.

So ask for accountability and support from friends and family. They will help keep you from taking on too many commitments or failing to prioritize your time, but also help keep you from becoming obsessed with your work. 

The Bottom Line: Humans have limited physical, mental, and emotional resources, and learning to prioritize is essential—particularly during NaNoWriMo.

9. Ask for Help

Despite the stereotype of the lonely, anti-social author holed up in the moorland mansion, writing a book is much like raising a child—it takes a village. This is why I suggest asking for help before NaNoWriMo begins to make your experience more pleasant for both you and the others in your life.

For example, if you live with your family, ask for a special quiet hour where you can write. Or ask for some temporary help with your chores. Maybe make a deal with your brother that you’ll do his chores for October if he does yours in November. Ask your spouse to cook dinner or look after the kids for a certain period so you can write. Whatever works for you and your loved ones.

Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help in regards to your novel! Don’t be afraid to ask someone to read over a few chapters and give their opinion. If a friend or acquaintance has a niche special interest that ties into your novel, ask them for facts or resources! Speaking from experience, whenever people ask about my passions and specialties, I feel special and valued, so you will likely make them feel very happy too. Of course, you shouldn’t pester them in place of doing your heavy lifting, since they have their own lives and projects to focus on, but asking a question every now and then will probably be fun for both of you.

Finally, there’s no harm in asking for help. Asking for help is a sign of maturity, people will respect you for admitting that you have a weakness and seeking alternative ways to deal with it. And most of your friends and family will be more than happy to help you out when they realize this is a project that is important to you.

The Bottom Line: Ask for some help! It is not a sign of weakness and most people are more than happy to help you out.

10. Pray

This is my final, and probably my most important, tip for preparing for NaNoWriMo. Pray. As Christians, prayer is our connection with God, and if we are dedicated to writing Christian fiction, whether that is implicit or explicit Christian fiction, it is an essential part of preparations. And it should continue into NaNoWriMo as well.

I know that sometimes it can seem as if God doesn’t care about our writing. After all, this is the God who created the entire Universe, why would He care about our messy little first draft? But He does care, He makes it clear throughout the whole Bible that He cares about our ministries, about our anxieties, and our spiritual growth.

Pray that God will reveal to you the words he wants you to write, that He will guide your hand, and that He will be glorified through your writing. Bring all your anxieties and issues to Him for He cares for you.

The Bottom Line: Pray! Pray! Pray! God is listening and He cares.

To sum it up, preparation is key to beating NaNoWriMo. Experiment with some outlining methods, work out a schedule and find some tunes that you enjoy. There is no right or wrong way to prepare either, so feel free to chuck out anything that doesn’t work for you! Anyway, that’s it from me! I hope this helped you novices prepare for your first National November Writing Month and I hope you veterans found something new to try this year.

What methods do you use to prepare for writing a new novel? Are there methods here you haven’t tried yet and are keen to?