Time, Word Goals, Rewards and Tools: Preptober Diaries Week One
It’s already the end of the first week of October, so here’s an update on my NaNoWriMo preparation progress!
In case you missed my previous post, this year is my first year participating in the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) challenge: writing a 50,000-word book in 30 days.
(If you missed my last post, check it out below.)
This challenge is a big undertaking for me, especially because I’m running a full-time business too! That’s why I decided to document my journey through October and November on Medium; that way, I have a source of accountability and motivation.
Here is what I have been up to in my first week of “Preptober”.
Planning my time
The first thing I did (when I finally had time to sit down and think about it) was to plan out my time for November. I decided against letting my business take a backseat because it is the primary source of my income — it would do me no good to let that slide while I focus on my novel.
So, since Saturdays are strict “no business days” for me, I worked out that I can do two four-hour writing sprints on those days (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). I can also do another four-hour writing sprint on Sunday afternoons.
This meant I could take away the pressure from writing huge amounts every day of the week, and confine those long writing sprints to the weekends. It also meant I can keep my normal business routine going throughout the weeks.
Planning my word goals
The next step in my plan was to break down the 50,000-word target into smaller chunks. The standard breakdown for NaNoWriMo if one were to write every day would be around 1667 words per day. However, since most of my writing will be on the weekends, I decided to set an initial goal of 2500 words per four-hour writing sprint.
So, with three sprints on a weekend, that means I can cover 7500 words every weekend. Times that by four, and already I can cover 30,000 words of that 50,000 target.
Neat!
But what about the rest? With 22 days remaining in November, I divided the remaining 20,000 words by that number to give me around 910 words per day. This is much more manageable than 1667 words every evening.
To give me some leniency, I rounded that figure to 1000 words to make the total 22,000 words throughout the weekdays.
So, that leaves me with:
Weekdays: 1000 words
Saturdays: 5000 words
Sundays: 2500 words
Planning my rewards
I got my rewards inspiration from writer and author Sarra Cannon, as she plans a reward for herself for every 10,000-word milestone.
(She also has a brilliant NaNoWriMo Preptober planner, which I’d recommend checking out in the video below. It helped me a lot with my planning!)
So I decided to set reward goals for myself every 10,000 words, with the rewards getting better each time. Rewards such as getting my hair done, buying a bar of dark chocolate, and buying a new game to play.
This means I will maintain motivation to achieve my writing goals and reach that 50,000-word target.
Planning what I need to get started
Finally this week, I planned what materials I will need to get through NaNoWriMo. It isn’t as simple as having a laptop and mouse to hand. You need to make sure you have everything to ensure your comfort and health too.
So, I made a list of the following items I will need to get going in November:
- My favourite pens
- Coloured pens and highlighters
- Index cards
- Paper
- Big water bottle (to stay hydrated!)
- Candles and lighting
- Lip balm
- Snacks
- Progress checklists
- Folder and associated stationery
You get the idea. Now all I have to do is make sure I have the items on the list!
Summary
So, that’s the first week of “Preptober” complete! I have planned my:
- Time
- Word goals
- Rewards
- Materials
With the early phase of preparation out of the way, I can start refining the plot and world of my novel.
How are your NaNoWriMo preparations going? I’d love to know what your plans are for this month and for November!
