Ch. 17 | Preptober: 8 Ways to Prepare for NaNoWriMo

Happy October! This chapter of the Word Weaver Podcast is a Preptober and NaNoWriMo 101 crash course. What is Preptober? What is NaNoWriMo? How do they work?

I also share my top preptober tips with 8 ways to get ready for NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month, this November (they really like alliteration!)

NaNoWriMo (while a mouthful to say) is a global phenomenon that begins on November 1 and lasts until 11:59pm on November 30. Writers from all over the world can participate and they work towards the goal of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

Did I mention that it is 100% free to participate? NaNoWriMo is a nonprofit that believes in the transformational power of creativity. They provide the structure, community, and encouragement to help people find their voices, create and achieve goals, and build new worlds – on and off the page.

October has been dubbed "preptober" which gives writers time to prepare for the challenge of writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

In this podcast chapter, I explain the ins and outs of how it all works and my top tips on how to prepare for NaNoWriMo such as:

1. Jot down character names and descriptions

2. Define your genre

3. Do the math for the month

4. Map out your calendar

5. Reward yourself with mini milestones

6. Ward off your inner critic

7. Organize your workspace and computer desktop

8. Warn your friends and family!

I love the concept and the notion that what you set your mind to, no matter how daunting or impossible the task seems, you CAN accomplish it. At the end of the month, when you see how far you’ve come, knowing that there were people around the world doing the same thing, it truly will make you a more confident writer and motivate you to persevere until you reach the pinnacle of your writing goals.

Links:

NaNoWriMo Website: nanowrimo.org

Word Weaver Podcast: louiseclairejohnson.com/podcast

Word Weaver Instagram: @wordweaverpodcast