Episode 023 | Nano Prep: Making Time & Space for Writing

National Novel Writing Month (NaNo) is almost here! (Cue confetti sound.) All this month I’ll be focused on getting you ready for NaNo.



For those of you who haven’t already heard of it, the gist is this: Write 50,000 words (the length of a 200-ish page novel) in the 30 days of November. If you finish, you win! (And honestly, I would argue that even if you don’t cross the 50,000-word line, but you establish a solid writing habit, you still win.)



There are always a variety of articles about this time every year touting the benefits of NaNo (e.g. sending the inner critic on a month-long vacation!) and testimonials about how NaNo was a game-changer for that person. I absolutely advise you to go seek some of these out. Communications from the NaNo organization itself will be full of these sorts of resources. Google some or head on over to the NaNoWriMo site and skim a few. They’re fun reads! Enjoy!



And there are about 47 million different podcasts, YouTube videos, classes, blogs, and books that will walk you through exercises to test your premise, help you develop your character, and flesh out an outline with sufficient detail to send you off on November 1st with a clear picture in mind. You should absolutely take advantage of these resources! If you’re in the Bloomington, IN Area, you can even come to my classes.



But this is primarily a writing productivity podcast, so we’re going to focus on the tools and systems you need to set up to keep track of all these brilliant insights on character and all those mind-blowing twists you’ve dreamed up for your plot.



If you’ve been listening to the show for a while, you may remember Episode 015 | 5 Essential Systems for Writers. In that episode, I gave an overview of the kinds of things a writer will need to track. This month, however, we’ll be getting into the brass tacks, discussing some specific tools helpful for tracking your time, your ideas and research, and your actual manuscript drafts. Here we go!



We’re going to start with the foundation of every writing project ever: making space and time for your writing.



1Find Your Writing Zone –Where you write can make a huge difference in how productive you are. How much do you know about your writing preferences? Are you working with or against your own instincts?



Which of the following descriptions do you think best describes you? Choose any and all answers that you think best apply to you. I prefer to write…



* In the following locations:* Wherever I find myself* At a designated/usual spot* At home* Anywhere BUT home* Outside* Inside* With the following conditions:* With people I know* With people I don’t know * Alone* With sound* In silence* Using the following methods:* Longhand* On a computer* Using dictation* Using an app on my phone* Using a typewriter or wordprocessor



Now test these out!