Final advice for Nanowrimo

Last minute thoughts and suggestions for final preparations before you challenge the Nanobeast. Believe me, it is a voracious monster. If you are to best it, you need to be ready.

HAVE YOU CHECKED YOUR CALENDAR? You need to know how many days you'll have available to write. If you are going to lose a week's writing time because of things like exams, family weddings and the like, it needs to be accounted for. No point in writing 1667 words a day if you're going to be on camp for the last week of November. Given that you'll lose some days through illness, natural disasters and the like, make sure you've checked for any scheduled time-outs.

DECIDE ON YOUR DAILY TARGET. This should be something you can write in the time available to you most days, and which is going to get you there ontime. The rule of thumb is 1667 words a day, every day. I aim for 2000 because that way I know I can miss a day without having to stretch to catch up.

HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT THE REWARDS YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE YOURSELF? I'd suggest three rewards spread through out the month, or four if you need extra spoiling. These rewards should be something reasonably substantial, genuine treat, and are NOT AVAILABLE as consolations if you fail to hit your targets.

HAVE YOU INSULATED YOURSELF FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD? Ensure the time set aside for writing is your time. Consider uninstalling chat devices like Messenger, locking your mobile phone away and giving the key to someone else, basically restricting people's access to you - because, believe me, THEY JUST WON'T UNDERSTAND - and your access to them, because you'll be crying out for human contact, but need to be strong ...

THINK ABOUT YOUR WRITING 'ROUTINE.' I write best sticking to a rigid routine. I usually write in the evening when the brats are in bed. Usually I fool about online for a spell, to get myself into the right frame of mind and catch up with writing buddies. I set myself a time limit, and stick to it. After that, I log off and write.

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU'LL BE WRITING ON YOUR FIRST DAY. I don't do strict plans, but I like to have a rough idea of what I'm going to be writing about on the first day. Think about how you'll establish settings, characters and atmosphere. How will you start the plot rolling?

IMPORTANT - YOU DON'T HAVE TO START AT MIDNIGHT. Some people make a big deal out of staying up and starting to write as soon as the clock hits midnight. I wouldn't bother with that, because it runs contrary to the idea of establishing a routine. Also, you might be excited and keyed up, but you're probably tired and your creativity is on the wane. Better to go to bed as normal, and start writing the next day.

PLAN, IF YOU MUST. I look on plans with suspicion. I understand, however, that many people like to have a plan of sorts in place. There is nothing wrong with knowing how the story is going to develop. So if you want to plan, there is nothing wrong with drawing up an outline of the acts and scenes of your story. One advantage of this is it allows you to jump ahead if you're stuck at one point, and write the bridge between the two blocks later.

BE FLEXIBLE. If you have a plan, but you get kidnapped by a better idea, don't be afraid to follow it. Even if it turns out to have been a bad idea, you can double back ("Then he woke with a start. He was still hiding in the giant's broom cupboard. Had he really dreamed all that?"). A lot of my practical advice involves inserting scenes and action that might not be in your plan - so you have to be flexible enough for this.

BE REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT YOU'LL ACHIEVE. No-one writes a masterpiece the first time they do nano. In fact, no-one ever writes a masterpiece in Nano. At best, you'll get something that could be hammered (and I mean hammered) into something better, with some work. Even if that doesn't happen, you should still learn a lot from it.

IGNORE THE GREEN BARS! After the first day, some people will be claiming to have written 10,000 words. After the third or fourth day, some people will be claiming they've written 50,000. They might be lying, they might be telling the truth. It doesn't matter. You aren't in competition with them. You're only in competition with yourself and the Nanobeast. Don't get Green Bar envy.

REMEMBER TO BACK UP YOUR WORK. The worst thing that can happen is losing your entire manuscript on the 25th on November because your computer dies on you and you haven't backed up your novel. Think - how are you going to ensure you novel survives flood, fire, hurricane, terrorist attack and computer meltdown? I email a copy to myself every other night - that way it is 'safe', and I can access it from any computer. Other people save it to disk or on flashdrives, but I feel they're too easily lost. But whatever works for you. Just make sure you know how you're going to do it.