It’s Coming… How to Prepare Your Life for NaNoWriMo (or any writing retreat)
Hopefully by now you are on track with developing your characters, their world, and the major plot points of the story you want to write. Normally I would say, take your time, don’t be in a rush with this process because the more you have developed before you begin, the better chance you have of writing something that will be well-structured from the get-go, with less chance of getting to the middle (or the end) and realizing you left out a crucial piece of plot or character development. However, if you’ve taken this month to do the steps I’ve outlined, you will have a strong start to your revved-up novel-writing process.
There are a few other things you may want to consider as part of your preparation. If you are going to be spending significantly more time writing, you may need to make some adjustments, physical and mental, in your life to accommodate that:
Your space: Do you know where you will write? Is it ready? Decluttered? Private? Do you have any notebooks, pens, inspirational quotes, or music set to go?
Your time: Do you know when you will write? If getting to 1667 words per day is going to take more time than you normally devote to writing, how will you squeeze out the extra time? For me, that would be about an hour and a half of straight writing, with no pauses for fumbling around, trying to think of what should happen next (hence, all the prep we’ve been doing this month – have you been doing your sprints to get to 1667 words more easily?). It might be best to plan for two hours, if you are a slower writer, if you want to take breaks, or if you feel you will need more time to think things through as you write. Will you need to get up earlier? Stay up later? Give up Netflix for a month? Knowing ahead of time and planning for it will be crucial to staying the course. Put your daily writing block in your calendar now.
Your food: What can you do this week to prepare for next month? Meal planning, stocking up on essential and snacks, making sure that meal prep time won’t interfere with writing time (but that you maintain good nutrition) are all important, and streamlining them could give you some precious time for writing. Ditto any other routine tasks, like making sure your pet has food, or taking care of household chores, errands, appointments, etc.
Your relationships: I’m talking your friends, your family – anyone who will be wondering what the heck you are doing when you disappear for a month. In this time of COVID, when many of us are home and going out is very curtailed, it may be much easier than in other years to beg off socializing. If you are working from home and taking care of kids, this year may be much harder for you to find the time to write. In any case, this challenge also impacts the people you live with. You have to let them know your writing time each day is sacred. Plan now for how you will deal with things like cooking, cleaning, laundry, and other household chores and distractions. And of course, Thanksgiving! This year you may not be traveling or having people over, but you’ll still have to get in your writing time that day.
Your mental game: How are you feeling right now? Excited? Nervous? Determined? Recognize that as the month goes on, your energy and enthusiasm may flag. How will you cope? Do you have friends also doing NaNoWriMo you can check in with? If not, the NaNoWriMo website has spaces for community support. Thinking ahead and planning what you will do in case of distractions, temptations, and lack of motivation will help you overcome them. You have to simultaneously keep the big picture in mind – a solid month of stretch writing goals – and take one day at a time.
Finally, review your story prep notes, adding in details as they come to you. You should be excited about getting your story on the page by now. Ideally by November 1 you’ll be raring to go.
You can, of course, use this preparation process for any longer-term writing retreat. It’s not limited to November, or to a month. Even if it’s for a weekend, this kind of advance planning can be important for making sure you get the most out of your writing time.
1. Set your writing goal
2. Prepare to meet it – what story elements do you need to have in place?
3. Prepare your physical space
4. Prepare the rest of your life to support this goal (your people, your food, your daily routine)
5. Prepare your mind to stay focused and on task.
And obviously, HAVE FUN!
If you have any other tips on preparing for a writing retreat, let us know in the comments!
