November, that special time of the year known as National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo or  aka or NaNo begins this week and with it comes excitement, promise, and worry. I can’t wait to dig into my new story but did I plan well enough? I can’t wait to meet the characters; will I be able to write them? I can’t wait to sit down and just write write write but will I make the at-times elusive 1667 words a day.

With NaNo, you have a month to focus all your efforts and want to take advantage of every single second.  Though I did win NaNo 2015, I’ve been trying do a better job of preparing for the month than I did last year.

Here are the three things that I’ve done to prepare for NaNoWriMo so far.

Read a technique book.

A writer friend of mine recommended Plot & Structure. I dug into it and loved it so far. I’ll admit technique books are not my thing, mostly because of my fruit-fly-level attention span. This book, however, has proven a difference maker. It even references the other writing book that I absolute love Scene & Structure. Both these books have been awesome for me and my writing.

I used Plot & Structure as I was plotting my book along. The simple way of explaining the stages of plot and the LOCK system are both well worthy. The rest is great as well.

I use Scene & Structure to plan all my Scenes and Sequels aka Actions and Reactions. That proved to be the best way to work my way through NaNo last year.

Cleaned the house, the bedroom and the office

There’s a sense of stillness in a clean house and that’s how you realize how loud clutter, dirt and disarray are. My house is never filthy. We make sure there’s always cleanliness but there is a difference between freshly clean and lived in for days. So I spent my afternoon yesterday making it happen.

This morning when I made my way downstairs, I felt that Zen that only clean and organized can bring. Even in my bedroom, putting everything in my dresser in its proper place, and moving the cardigans from my footboard to the closet, it just feels right.

The same with my office. Yesterday, I cleaned the desks, removed the notepads and put them in their right place. Pinned the Post-its notes to the cork-board and left my desk blank except for the monitor. It helps me get into the mindset of writing. It’s something I learned from Margie Lawson’s Defeating Self-Defeating Behaviors. Clear your desk entirely and leave no room for distractions.

Socialized

Yes, this seems a little odd but it’s really not. In November, you’ll be turning down lots of invitation in the name of getting those 1667 words you need to write a day to get to 50,000 at the end of the month.

So, I spent some times with friends. I also made sure to let them all know I will be going ghost come today. Warning is a good way to state your purpose too. Your friends and family though they will miss you, will want you to succeed and will be 100% behind you.

Do you participate in NaNoWriMo? If so, how do you prepare? Share some of your ideas. We can learn from each other!