The Writing Sparrow
The Writing Sparrow
Sarina
How to Prepare for NaNoWriMo Without Overpreparing
7 minutes Posted Oct 26, 2020 at 12:00 am.
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This week we're diving deeper into NaNoWriMo preparations without over-preparing.

Please note: this is how I prefer to prepare for November. You can prepare more or less if you like :)

There are 4 equally important basics I get ready before NaNoWriMo:

  • my main characters - names, ages, looks, wants and needs, fears, strengths and weaknesses, speech habits,...
  • my world - relevant country names, what those countries are known for, culture, how growing up there influenced your characters,...
  • my plot - beginning, why your character goes on this journey, how everything changes in the middle, and the ending/aka what every word is leading up to.
  • my rewards - I like to set myself milestones throughout NaNoWriMo and treat myself if I reach them. My tiers are 15k, 30k, and finishing at 50k, but you can set those to whatever you like or not do this step at all. I recommend it as a month-long motivator.

If you're writing every day, your word count is 1,666 words a day. If you take the weekends off like I do*, your word count goal is 2,380 words a day.

Most importantly, remember that all progress is good progress. If you don't reach 50k words next month, it doesn't matter - just have fun and enjoy the process!

Your action step this week is to take a few notes about your characters, world, and plot so you know the basics. Set your milestone rewards if you fancy. Take a deep breath. We've got this! <3

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