Almost Done Planning

Hey everyone! (:

So as I'm sure you all know, today is Saturday! Normally teens would be out hanging with their friends, watching a movie, hanging out and overall having fun on a Saturday afternoon, am I right? Well I am actually having a lot of fun! I might not be hanging out or seeing a movie(although I did do that last night) but I am having a lot of fun getting ready for NaNo next Friday. Here are some of the crazy but really fun things I have been doing to get ready for NaNo next Friday:

~ Writing outlines
~ Creating Character Sheets
~ Writing down random plot ideas
~ Doing daily writing exercises(Anywhere from 100 word to 4,000 word exercises)
~ Internet Research
~ Having phone calls, just on the topic of NaNo ;)

As you can see, I have been doing a lot of planning for NaNo. Normally when I sit down to write fiction I don't really spend a lot of time planning, I normally jump right in and hope everything goes well. But because of the huge size of this project I have decided to do some planning. Maybe too much planning that is.If you are jumping into NaNo yourself, you can choose to do some planning before you start, or jump right in. Every person has a little something different that works for them, try something and see how it works for you!  The the planning part of NaNo can be a lot of fun. :) If you are currently in the crazy stage of planning for your novel, here are some tips I have learned:

Bring a Writers Notebook- This one is so important. If you don't already have a writers notebook hanging around the house, then find a good notebook to be able to bring with you everywhere. If you have to go run a few quick errands, bring your notebook and pen with you. This can save you a lot of valuable time later on. Last night while we were going to the movies, I had all these ideas for my novel and the way things should work. I had to write down some notes on my hand because I forgot my writers notebook! Don't let this happen to you. :)

Stay Organized- This one is actually an important but easy step when preparing for NaNo, or any other writing project. If you are working mainly on your computer, make sure to have a folder in your bookmarks for when you decide to bookmark websites. This can save you a lot of time later on so you don't have to dig through all your bookmarks! Also be sure to keep a folder on your computer with your different documents all related to NaNo. If you are working off of the computer, be sure to have a good few select notebooks for the task. This can save you a lot of time later!

Have a Friend- This one is so important in the planning stages, and during NaNo itself. You can't write an entire 50,000 word novel alone! Of course, you actually have to be the one writing the words, but there is no rule against having a friend be there to cheer you on! In fact, that is actually encouraged! If you don't have a close friend that loves to write, check out the NaNo website and there will be many people there ready to support you! Check that out here.

Have Fun- This is the most important point I want to make! Writing should be a fun experience. If you don't love to write, then NaNo might not be for you. Make sure to have fun during the planning stages, writing stages, and even the editing stages of writing. Writing should be a fun and stress free activity, not something that gives you more of a headache! :)

For those of you who are doing NaNo too, I hope these tips were helpful to you. :) You will be seeing(or reading) much more of me in the near future.

5 days left until NaNo!