Preptober Checklist for NaNoWriMo

With only a few days until the official start of NaNoWriMo, it felt appropriate to share a quick Preptober checklist to make sure you have everything ready for November. Maybe you’ve spent the last few weeks completing my Preptober workbook, or maybe you’ve only just decided to give NaNoWriMo a shot this year. No matter which camp you’re in, this checklist will cover the basics of what you’ll need to figure out before November 1.

If you’re already confused, let me back up a bit. NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, takes place every November when hundreds of thousands of writers around the world set a goal to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Reach that goal, and you’ve “won” the month plus you’ll have a sizable chunk of a novel written!

This will be my seventh year participating in the challenge, and I tend to “win” every other year. Most of the years when I haven’t reached that 50,000-word goal were also ones when I didn’t observe any kind of Preptober, what Wrimos call the month of October when they’re preparing to draft a new novel.

Set a goal for the month

The official goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. It’s what the stats page at NaNoWriMo.org will automatically count toward and what you’ll need to hit to gain the benefits of “winning” the month.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t observe the month while keeping a different goal in mind. For you, the final word count might be less important than creating a consistent writing practice. Or maybe you can’t commit to 1,667 words each day right now, but you could shoot for a daily goal of 500 or 1,000 words.

It’s important to find your “why” for participating in NaNoWriMo. Write it down, find an affirmation that relates to it, and craft a goal that fits accordingly. Because there will come a time during the month that you’ll need it to inspire you to keep going for one more day or even another week. In my experience, NaNoWriMo is a worthwhile experience, but it is not an easy one!

Start making space in your life for writing

Now that you’ve set your NaNoWriMo goal, you can start making time for writing in your schedule. I would absolutely suggest doing this now and not when you wake up the morning of November 1. Depending on how often you currently write, that could be a whole lot of novelty your brain to deal with in one day.

Take an honest look at your schedule and see if there are times that you can carve out for writing. Consider when you tend to do your best writing: in the mornings before work? in the evenings once your other responsibilities are taken care of? (A quick caveat here: NaNoWriMo is not the time to rely on the muse, but taking into account when you might be most creatively refreshed can at least help guide when you sit down to get your words out.)

I’d suggest completing a test sprint to help you get a feel for how long that 1,667-word goal will take you. Set a timer for 30 minutes and write your heart out! Once the timer is up, see how you did. You likely won’t be able to keep up that sprinting pace for every writing session over 30 days, but it can serve as a benchmark to help you know roughly how much time you’ll need each day.

I love doing writing sprints during NaNoWriMo, and if you find them to be useful, I would recommend following NaNoWordSprints on Twitter. They lead sprints throughout the month and are a great resource when you’re feeling a little uninspired or need to make up some words.

Decide what you’re going to write

Would it be a Preptober checklist if I didn’t plug my free Preptober workbook, Four Weeks to Your Best NaNoWriMo? Whether you’re a Plotter or a Pantser by nature, having some idea of what you’ll begin writing on November 1 is a good idea.

My workbook focuses in to help you develop three important aspects of your novel: character, setting, and plot. In 15 minutes a day throughout October, you can have a solid foundation for NaNoWriMo, beginning on day one.

But maybe you don’t have an entire month to prepare. Maybe it’s October 31, you just came home from a Halloween party where a friend mentioned NaNoWriMo, and you’re searching the internet for ways to prep for the month. If that’s you, welcome! You can find more of my writing resources here, but for right now, we’re going to set all of that aside and dig into your project for NaNoWriMo.

Before you begin writing on November 1, I want you to take some time to free write about your story idea. This exercise will mean something different for every writer, but here are a couple examples of what your post-brainstorm document might look like:

• A stream-of-consciousness style page of everything your brain produced about your story idea
• A bulleted list of everything you know about the plot of your story
• A series of “What if?” questions that you asked yourself about your story idea
• A character profile of your main character including their backstory and at what moment in their life your story will begin
• A written account of everything that takes place right before your story actually begins

Announce your novel at NaNoWriMo.org

If you’re participating in the month, I absolutely recommend creating an account at NaNoWriMo.org. Not only will the stats help you keep track of your writing progress over the 30 days, but you can also find Buddies and join up in virtual writing events with other Wrimos in your area.

Once you’ve created an account, you can “announce your novel” to others on the site. Give your novel project a name and select the genre(s) that you’ll be writing. Don’t stress! No one is going to hold you to any of these preliminary choices. You can also add a summary, an excerpt, and even a Pinterest page or playlist.

I’d also encourage you to add a cover to your project. According to NaNoWriMo, adding a cover photo increases your chances of “winning” the month by 60%, which feels like a pretty compelling argument. You can easily create something in Canva that will be just fancy enough to inspire you every time you see it!

Choose your preferred method of writing

I’ve NaNo-ed a few different ways over the last decade. I’ve written by hand in a notebook, typed my words out in both Microsoft Word and Scrivener, and done a confusing mixture of the two. There are no rules! You can do whatever fits best for your writing style.

This year, I’ll be using Scrivener, a platform developed specifically for writers that has all sorts of tools and tricks for keeping yourself focused and organized. (I’ve upgraded to Scrivener 3, and I’m in love.) If you’ve been here for a while, this won’t surprise you. I’ve written about Scrivener here and here, so it makes sense that I would include it in this Preptober checklist.

Remember that whatever writing method you choose, you will need to know how much you’ve written every day. I’m looking at you, pen and paper friends!

Find a writer friend to hold you accountable

I’m very blessed to have writer friends in my life who keep me inspired and hold me accountable at all times of year. For NaNoWriMo, thought, it’s a necessity. You can find friends online through social media or even through the NaNoWriMo website. If you’re looking for a Buddy, hit me up!

You can work with friends to keep you motivated in a number of ways:

• Start a group text for keeping one another accountable with word counts and inspiring messages
• Post to Instagram Stories or TikTok with a daily progress update
• Use Discord to keep in touch with online friends who are also participating in NaNoWriMo
• Set up a weekly writing call with a writer friend to chat about your stories and get some writing done together

However you choose to keep in touch with accountability partners, you will benefit from having someone’s support throughout National Novel Writing Month!

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How many steps have you completed so far in this Preptober checklist? Let me know what else you’re doing to prepare.

P.S. I also have a shortened version of my Preptober workbook: the 5-Day Preptober Email Series. Check it out if you need more Preptober tips!

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