NaNoWriMo starts in less than a week.

Since I’m officially a college dropout again, I’m going to be focusing all of my extra time into my novel. Honestly, all I could think about over the last several months was getting back into writing. Sure, I wrote a quick story here and there, but nothing serious. All of my energy went into coding websites, getting ready for school, and then coding websites and going to school. While I was still in school, I fantasized about writing my novel while doing the whole school thing, but in my heart knew it probably wouldn’t be possible. While I’m a little sad about having to take a hiatus from my education, I’m more than excited that I’ll be filling the gap doing what I love the most.

I wanted to post more tips before we got to November, but school left me with little extra time for blogging. So instead of several posts, I’m going to do a list! (We all love lists, right?)

Getting Ready for November Noveling Mania

• Write an outline. Your outline could be as simple as beginning, middle, and end, but having one keeps you from getting stuck. Trust me on this. You can always change things around later, but having a sense of direction while pumping out those words really makes a difference.
• Get to know your characters. You can write mini profiles, some back story, or whatever, but make sure you get to know your characters at least a little bit before you write. I posted a character interview worksheet that you are free to use.
• Don’t stress. NaNoWriMo is supposed to be fun! You can’t have fun if you’re stressed out about it.

During NaNoWriMo

• Drink coffee. This isn’t really a tip; it’s more of a given. I highly recommend the White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream at Starbucks. You’ll need the espresso!
• Pace yourself. Break the 50,000 words into smaller, more doable chunks. I try to write 2,000 words a day. If I write more, I’m ahead of schedule. If I write less, I only have to write that plus 2,000 the next day. Pacing yourself also ensures that you don’t burn yourself out. I said in a comment on another blogger’s post about NaNoWriMo tips that if you burn yourself out, you’re less likely to do any writing. (Coffee, of course, helps.)
• Connect with other NaNoWriMo-ers. These kinds of connections are priceless, as you and your writing buddies will cheer each other on, bounce ideas off of each other and, if your lucky, get super competitive. (A little friendly competition will send your word count way up!) I guess this should technically go under “Getting Ready,” as you’ll want to spend November writing rather than trying to make friends, but you should use these connections while writing. All you have to do is take a cruise around the NaNoWriMo forums, do a quick search on Twitter, or check out the NaNoWriMo-themed blogs on Technorati.

Are you doing NaNoWriMo this year? What are some of your NaNoWriMo tips? Share them in the comments below!