Getting ready for NaNoWriMo

Today is October 27

It’s approaching the end of the month, so of course I have a lot of things on my mind.  For example making sure I have recorded all of my hours at work; making sure I have paid all the bills due this month; finishing off my Australian tax return (all I have to do now is lodge it); and preparing for NaNoWriMo.

Last year my preparations for NaNoWriMo were pretty much non-existent.  I found out on the 1^st of November and managed to type up almost 2,000 words in the first day.  I had no plot, nor did I really have any characters.  All I had was an introduction to a story which didn’t fully coalesce until a few days later.

So, in order to avoid the mistakes of last year I have spent the last few weeks and months preparing.  So, here is what I have done:

1. Read some books.  In the last couple of months I have managed to read an assortment of books including:

• The Rage Against God by Peter Hitchens - read about my thoughts of that book here
• The Shack by William P Young
• Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Xenophobe’s Guide to the English and the Polish
• Noah’s Compass by Anne Tyler
• The Secret of Happy Parents by Steve Biddulph
• Eastern Standard Tribe by Corey Doctorow
• And a few eBooks including Robert Louis Stephenson’s Fables

(I would like to thank my sister for introducing me to the Book Depository, which delivers books worldwide without charging postage and handling)


2. I have updated my author profile on the NaNoWriMo website

3. I have tried to blog more regularly in order to get back into the habit of writing (not very successfully)

4. Blocked most of my Facebook applications and installed Tweetdeck so I don’t get distracted

5. I have an idea for a story and the glimmerings of a plot (I don’t know if ‘glimmering’ is the right word here, but I’ve used it anyway)

6. Asked my wife if she minded I spend two or three hours a day sitting in front of the computer every night.  Funnily enough she didn’t seem to mind too much.

7. Downloaded the latest version of Scrivener.  The software of writers.


That’s it, I’m ready now.  Only a few more days to go before I start my next novel adventure.