NaNoWriMo Boot Camp

Before we get to the NaNo boot camp, I wanted to share something cool. Jody Hedlund, bestselling author and Super Blogger, reposted my post about "Writing lessons learned from UNENDING DEVOTION." She added her own thoughts about each point, and of course, we get to absorb more of Jody's wisdom. Be sure to check out "9 Tips for Creating a Compelling Novel."

Now, on to NaNoWriMo Boot Camp. For those of you who don't know, November is National Novel Writing Month, when ambitious writers around the world set out to write a 50k-word novel in 30 days. Totally crazy. Totally fun.

If you want to write a novel and haven't yet plotted or planned, fear not. There's still time to prepare. And if you never plan before writing your novels? Maybe these ideas will help you as your pants your way through November.

I hope the following links help!

Janice Hardy wrote a great series of posts about planning your NaNo novel:

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel's Beginning

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel's Middle

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel's Ending

And she wrote this really cool post--Query First? The Query as a Plotting Tool (love this idea, and tried it myself)

And she has great advice about creating characters in this post--Who is That Guy? Discovering Your Characters

And in The Bookshelf Muse Writing Resource Newsletter, Angela Ackerman offers lots of great tips (WHAT? You don't subscribe? YOU SHOULD!! Sign up here):

From the newsletter:

Write Or Die Hardcore incentive to write. Achieve a set Word Count by a certain time, or it will unwrite itself.
HiveWord An online writing tool that lets you keep all your brainstorming & writing organized and in one place. It's free, and you can write from anywhere.
Handy-Dandy Nano Story Outline Roz Morris nails out an excellent path of questions to ask about your story before you write!
Worksheets For Writers Jami Gold has put together a delicious mix of worksheets to help you plot. To avoid a snag or two in your plot, take the time to plan. Even Pantsers will find some brainstorming helpful!
Rainy Mood I can't write to music, but I can write to white noise. Rainy Mood is perfect for drafting & shutting out the distractions.
Plotting With Note Cards Want structure, but not too much structure? Try this plotting method and get the basics down before D day.
Listology: Character Archtypes This is the biggest list I've found of Character Archtypes. It is sure to get you started on building your cast!
The Character Trait Thesaurus Heck yes I will use my own blog tool for Nano! I want to build a credible hero and scanning character traits will help me on my way. And if I get stuck on settings, I'll browse The Setting Thesaurus, too. :)

And Angela offered these additional tips for the November madness:

Set firm rules for Social Media and Email. This is a MUST. Don't break the flow by checking what's going on every 5 seconds.
Prepare food in advance. If you are a Mom or Dad, you don't want your kids turning feral from Hunger. Likewise if you are married, etc. Plan meals, freeze, buy easy-cook items, whatever your fancy.
Find your routine. Busy schedules make writing a challenge. Get into a schedule before Nano starts so you'll know what works for you.
Create rewards. Pick up some of your favorite chocolate noms, or candy, special coffees...whatever will make reaching a set WC your goal.
Visit the Nano site. There is a ton of knowledge, support and people willing to brainstorm when you hit a wall. Get to know other Nanoers!

GUESS WHAT ELSE??? Angela and Becca, of the fabulous and ever-helpful The Bookshelf Muse, are giving away TEN COPIES of their amazing Emotion Thesaurus to NaNo winners. Have you seen their amazing book pasted everywhere? And everyone is talking about it? And darn, you wish you had a copy? Clicky clicky at super speed over there and enter to win. Deets and form are here. Even if you own a copy, if you win, you can give your prize away. How cool is that?

So? What do you think? Are you in? Have you ever done NaNo before? Are you doing it this year?