I adore the beginning of autumn. Year after year, I spend endless hours in September and October soaking in the changing colors and enjoying the last of the beautiful weather before the snow and ice invade. It’s a relaxing time for me, and I do my best to pamper myself in preparation for another difficult winter.

Not this year, my friends. Fall is getting an intense makeover. This year I will spend my beloved fall months preparing for the exhilarating hell that will be November.

November is (at least according to www.nanowrimo.org) National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo (the clever abbreviation of National Novel Writing Month) is a month-long event in which participants can track their progress and connect with other writers while attempting to complete—from start to finish—a 50,000-word novel. The event is run by Oakland, California–based The Office of Letters and Light, a nonprofit organization which “organizes events where children and adults find the inspiration, encouragement, and structure they need to achieve their creative potential”.

NaNoWriMo participants must write an average of (gulp) 1,667 words every day of November and submit all 50,000 words for verification prior to midnight Pacific time on November 30 in order to successfully cross the finish line. All the while sweating, sleeping, and breathing their novels, participants receive pep-talk e-mails from established writers and encouraging boosts of energy from fellow writers and word count widgets that show just how far they’ve come.

But still…1,667 words a day? Every day? This is a freaking daunting task. It could also be just the kick in the pants I need to complete my first novel. I participated in my first NaNoWriMo last year and was brought to my knees by three very common problems among writers: 1) I am a slave to the muse; 2) My inner editor is more active than my inner writer; and 3) I will not allow myself to write crap. My flash drive now contains a quaint gathering of 5,000 words of what may some day be quite a lovely novel.

This year, however, I vow to be prepared. In the interest of banging out that first draft, I will not idly await inspiration to strike. I will heartily tell my inner editor to kindly shove off. I will embrace mediocrity and smile through the pain. The first draft is going to be crap. NaNoWriMo welcomes crap, which gives me license to write it. Besides, every writer must become a master at rewriting. Why not let this be the ultimate exercise?

While NaNoWriMo forbids any actual writing to commence until 12:01 a.m. on November 1, there is no rule against preparing a…

Three-Step Plan of Attack:

1. Practice the act of writing. I acquired my copy of The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron a bit too late to reap the full benefits before November, but I have taken away one important tool: Morning Pages. Cameron mandates that one must write long-hand three pages of anything first thing in the morning. Every. Single. Day. I’ve been composing my morning pages for about week now, and every day it gets a little easier. And every day my inner editor quiets herself just a bit.
2. Outline. NaNoWriMo encourages participants to prepare an outline before the November 1 start date, if that is the way they write best. I usually don’t do that well with outlines. But I don’t usually have to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It couldn’t hurt, right?
3. Build my toolbox. A trip to my local bookstore and an afternoon with my dear friend the Internet has provided a promising arsenal.

   No Plot? No Problem!: A High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty. This book is the unofficial guide to NaNoWriMo. Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo, and I figure, if anyone should know how to go about it, he should!

   The Pocket Muse by Monica Wood. Chock-full of interesting writing prompts, this is a great antidote to writer’s block. When I find myself staring at the end of a sentence, unsure of where to go next, I can pick up this little volume, turn to a random page, and continue with whatever Ms. Wood and Fate say I should continue with. So an alien spaceship has just landed in the middle of a dinner party? Okay! That should take up at least 2,000 words.

   www.writingfix.com. This is another great source for writing prompts. What’s great about this site is that it has options for right-brained or left-brained prompts. By clicking a few buttons, I can have in front of me my next sentence, my next word, or even my next theme, all tailored to the way I think.

   Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. This lovely novel about a man and his elephant in a Depression-era circus was a New York Times #1 Best Seller and winner of the 2007 BookSense Book of the Year Award. And the first draft of it was written for NaNoWriMo. Enough said.

   Coffee. Lots of it. I cannot embark on this journey without making sure I have all the sustaining caffeine I could possibly need. I will buy coffee in bulk, and I will drink it from the largest travel mug I can find. I once saw a man in a suit carrying a coffee cup that I swear had the word “keg” emblazoned on it. I’ll use it if I can find it.

As November approaches and my fear mounts, I’m fortified by the idea that in a mere 9 weeks, I may be staring lovingly at my very first novel. Care to join me?

Photo courtesy of DearTerisa.

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