Build Your NaNoWriMo Survival Kit

Gearing up for NaNoWriMo? Listen to peacelovejay's voice of experience. —Sparkitors

Salutations, my sparkly friends! Can you believe that it’s nearly November already? It’s my favorite time of the year—the beauty of leaves changing color, the opportunity to wear glittens, the impending awesomeness of Thanksgiving (what could be better than a holiday solely dedicated to eating?). But there is another wonderful thing about November: a thing that means November trump any other month in its sleep. Its name induces both boundless excitement and blood-curdling terror, both joy and despair. It is... (drum roll please) NaNoWriMo!

If you have been living under a rock somewhere, you may not know what NaNo is. (Just kidding—NaNo is tragically under-advertised.) As we've discussed on SparkLife, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. (Please do not ask why it’s in November or when National Novel Reading Month is. I don’t know the answer to either of these questions.) Basically, write 50,000 words in 30 days or risk humiliation and endless ridicule from everyone you foolishly informed of your quest. Ask one survivor about it, and she’ll tell you it’s the closest thing to hell on earth, and warn you not to attempt it unless you enjoy sleep deprivation and nasty caffeine addictions. Ask another survivor, and you’ll hear that it’s the most amazing idea to ever grace the earth, and tell you that if you miss this incredible opportunity, you’re a blibbering humdinger (wow, my spellcheck thinks "humdinger" is a word!). Both are correct. It’s hella tough, but ever so rewarding for lovers of reading and writing everywhere. At the very least, you’ll have a newfound respect for your favorite author. At best, you’ll have a draft of a brand spanking new novel that you can one day pack off to a publisher or use to get extra credit from your newly adoring English teacher!

What will you require to undertake this valiant mission? Never fear; you need only refer to this survival guide, and you’ll be good to go.

- Copious amounts of coffee, Red Bull, chocolate, etc. (choose your poison). I think this is self-explanatory, but just to clarify: writing 1667 words a day is hard. Writing 1667 QUALITY words a day is nearly impossible. While NaNo almost forces you to prize quantity over quality, you don’t want your novel to be a complete waste. Therefore, prepare for late nights trying not to fall behind on word count. This brings us to our next point...

- Thesaurus. What’s the difference between "I was angry at Bob" and "I was outraged. Completely irate, vexed, annoyed, and downright infuriated by Bob’s actions. He didn’t know just how indignant and furious I was. I was seething, fuming, livid"? 23 words, that’s what.

- A baby-naming book (or website). Stuck on a name? Flip to a random page or click "randomizer." While I would not recommend this method for naming actual babies (I just got "Holden"—my child would wind up named after one of the original sufferers of teenage angst. Lovely.), it works quite well for background characters who can no longer be referred to as Plot Device 2 or Billy #4.

- A real live person. A book can’t always do the trick. Completely blanking on the word you want to use? At your wit’s end trying to think of the perfect name for an important character? Having a supportive friend around is vital. (The "supportive’" part is key. A friend who, when told of your foray into NaNo-land, blurts, “Writing is for nerds. What the heck is an antecedent? Harry Potter sucks!” is not appropriate for this task. Actually, such a person is not appropriate for life, but that’s an argument for another time.)

- A plot. Now, you might be saying, “But Jay, a plot is not a tangible object that I can collect in preparation for NaNo!” And to you, kind Sparkler, I reply, “Oh, but it is.” This is because any decent novel needs a clear, written outline of the characters, conflicts, and general plot. Type it up, draw a diagram, or—my personal favorite—buy a calendar and fill it out as if you’re living in your book. Whatever works for you, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll be thanking me for this when it’s day 26 and you can’t remember what’s supposed to happen after Kierra rescues Yardley from the evil Darrell’s lair of darkness (why, yes, I did use the name randomizer to write that sentence). Without a plot sheet, you will panic and flounder around, wasting time thinking of a new plot and falling behind in your word count. One look at your handy plot sheet, though, and you’ll be back on track in no time! If you’re not convinced yet, just know that J.K. Rowling does it too.

So, my dear readers, now that you are significantly more educated about NaNo preparation (and I hope not too frightened), don’t hesitate to get started on your plotting. We’ve got 7 days and counting! Let’s move, move, move, people!

Seriously, what are you still doing here?

Do you have your survival kit ready to go?

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