NaNoWriMo Prep

Me in my favorite spot

In the weeks leading up to my spontaneous and belated decision to do NaNoWriMo, I’ve had quite a lot of preparation to do.

1. First on my list was to get the house in order so I had a comfortable space to write. This also involved stashing up on a few goods for inspiration... 

Liquid inspiration

2. The next step was a bit of literary housekeeping. I was determined to finally finish transcribing my diary, journals, and hundreds of notes and scrapes of writing I've done over the years, into an electronic version so I could pull from that well when needed.

3. I also had to make a writing schedule so that I had some measurable way of ensuring I stay on track and checking my progress. Like most people, I work full time and have social commitments (yes, even out here in a village of 3,000 people), so on some days I have no writing scheduled. 


Here is my totally honest and possibly naive writing schedule for November:

Day	Date	Comments	Words
Friday	1	work	1000
Saturday	2	work	1000
Sunday	3	work	1000
Monday	4	no work!	4000
Tuesday	5	no work!	4000
Wednesday	6	late night	500
Thursday	7	work	1000
Friday	8	Hiroshima	3000
Saturday	9	Hiroshima	3000
Sunday	10	Hiroshima	3000
Monday	11	work	1000
Tuesday	12	work	1000
Wednesday	13	late night	500
Thursday	14	business trip	0
Friday	15	business trip	0
Saturday	16	business trip	1000
Sunday	17	no work	4000
Monday	18	work	1000
Tuesday	19	work	1000
Wednesday	20	late night	500
Thursday	21	work	1000
Friday	22	Okayama	1000
Saturday	23	Okayama	4000
Sunday	24	Okayama	4000
Monday	25	work	1000
Tuesday	26	work	1000
Wednesday	27	late night	500
Thursday	28	work	1000
Friday	29	work	2000
Saturday	30	celebration party!	3000
			50000

This is the learning year. This is the year I find out what kind of writer I am. 

Do I write better in the morning, evening, or the middle of the night? 
Can I write for hours uninterrupted, or do I write in short bursts of energy throughout the day? 
Do I need to chart and plot out every detail in a  scene before hand, or am I able to create it as I write?
What do I need to focus? Background music, alcohol, other people?
Do I prefer to keep a routine schedule for writing, or do I work better by changing the time day to day?
Am I more focused and clear-headed when I am at home, or in public? 

I can't believe I've been writing for all these years and I still can't answer these questions about myself. 

4. Last on my list was to finally finish detailing my trip to Pakistan. This serves several purposes. First, it is great practice for novel writing. Unlike my fictional novel, I don't have to imagine a story, a scene, or characters, because I lived that story, I saw those scenes, and I know those characters. All that is left to do is describe the experience. When I write about Pakistan, I can relax my creative muscles for a bit and focus on technique.

Apart from being a great warm-up for a novel, the travel diaries will also serve as my reflections for years to come. I may not have another chance to go back to Pakistan, and I since I don’t want to forget many of the fine details of my once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I can look back on my writing and be instantly reminded of the wild and wonderful time.

Lastly, and perhaps least importantly, my travel journals provide some substance for this blog. I plan to post several excerpt from my journal throughout the month of November, so that during that time I can focus solely on my novel.