NaNoWriMo is Coming

National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. Wired gives you some tips on how to write a novel in 30 days.

From the piece...

1) Plan Ahead

Writing starts Nov. 1 and continues through midnight of Nov. 30, but that doesn't mean you can't start planning now. If you've got ideas jot them down -- character sketches, plot ideas, scene settings, any idea that might help speed your along once the writing starts.

Produce an outline if you can, mapping out the plot of your novel and figuring out how to move from scene to scene before you start writing will help you avoid accidental dead ends.

Clear your November schedule as much as you can to allow yourself more time to write and set a schedule so that you know your daily word goal. To make the 50,000-word finish line, you'll need to write just under 1,700 words a day. Some days you'll write less than that, but if you push yourself on good days, when you're on a roll, you can easily double your required daily output.

Once you start actually writing, take time to plan the next day's writing ahead of time. Having the scenes for tomorrow in your head today will give your brain time to work on it even when you aren't thinking about it directly. In fact, you may well find yourself dreaming about your novel, working out ideas in your sleep. Keep a notebook or a recording device next to your bed to get the ideas down when you first wake up.

All of us write to our own muse. Some writers find a tight structure very helpful. Some find such a structure confining. If you find keeping to your outline difficult, it may work best for you to let the outline go. Many successful novelists operate just that way, by allowing their writing flow spontaneously. Writing 50,000 words in a month will quickly teach you how much formal structure you need. This is not to say that an outline isn't helpful even for freeform writers. The more preparation and attention you put into your plot, whether it changes later or not, the more likely it is that you will meet your goal.