The (Wo)Man with the Plan

Preparation is the key and it will look different for everyone.

Some people plan novels, some will plan meals, some will plan to trick others into doing their chores. No matter what, if you’re doing NaNoWriMo, you’re going to need some type of plan to get you through this insanity.

Novel Planning
Not everyone plans their novels and that is fine. Don’t ever let someone tell you there is only one right way to write a novel. Getting that out of the way, if you do prefer to plan your novel then get it done. Do your character sketches. Write your backgrounds. Do whatever you want to prepare yourself to write a minimum of 50,000 words in 30 days.
You can do all the novel planning you want in any way you want.

Home Planning
I highly recommend thinking about this unless you are single and have servants to take care of you as you write, you need a plan here. Think about asking for help from supportive family and friends. Think about preparing freezer meals and slow cooker meals. Make a plan so that no one gets neglected - including yourself. Especially yourself. If you’ve never tried NaNoWriMo before then you should know that self-care during the gruelling month is critical.

Life Planning
School? Work? Life is a priority. Sometimes you can’t do much about life getting in the way of creativity. Do try to make sure you get the important things done in your life. Forgive yourself for those days when life doesn’t go as planned, but do try to make sure you leave room in your life for… well, life.

Other Planning
Do you like to write to music? Get those playlists put together. Anything you need to get through this month, think about it. Plan for it. Tendonitis? Make sure you have the items you need to be able to care for yourself to prevent a flare-up (because if you’re anything like me, you’ll spend at least one week of the month in a splint).

Make ‘Be Prepared’ your motto and try to plan ahead. Oh, and very important:

PLAN TO BACK YOUR NOVEL UP DAILY.

You have no idea how many times I have heard the story of lost novels because someone didn’t back up their work. Use cloud storage, an external hard drive or memory stick. Use them all if you want. Just make sure you have a plan to have your novel accessible in multiple ways. Trust me on this one.