Are you experienced?

Nanowrimo is a strange experience. Writing in itself is an odd thing to do and probably not as glamorous or interesting as it is made out to be. In the movies, characters who are supposed to be writers never actually seem to spend much time writing. Instead, they are forever investigating slayings, being very witty or getting seduced.

Based on my own Nano experience, you won't have time for any of that. You won't have tim for anything much, other that writing and tearing your hair. part of my pre-nano ritual is that I go skinhead, to avoid this.

With this in mind, it is important that you know what you are getting yourself into. Think about the following:

• What is the longest piece of writing you have ever written?
• Are you in the habit of sitting down to write every day?
• How long does it take you to write a thousand words?
• Do you have twice that amount of time to set aside, every day, for writing?
• When is that time going to be?
• Have you warned all your friends and family that you aren't going to be able to see them between now and the end of November?
• Have you warned yourself that you aren't goingt to be able to see your friends and family between now and the end of November?

You need to be able to answer all these questions.

If you haven't written anything longer than a few hundred words before, you need to have a trial run. Try to write a short story, 1,500-2,000 words, just so you know what it feels like, and how long it takes you. And then try to do it three nights in a row - doesn't matter if it is three different stories, or one big story. The point is to find out how long it will take you to reach that nightly target of 1667 words per night.

(I usually aim for 2,000, as I like to finish early and have 'emergency cover.')

Try to find a tim slot that you can write in. It should be a habit - same time, every night. I always write after the children are put to bed, between 9pm and 11pm. Some people prefer to write in the morning, when they are fresh and energized, before the troubles of the day spoil their mood. I'm not a morning person, and I write gruesome violent pulp fiction, so I find it better to write AFTER the day's troubles have had a go at me. Then I take out all my stress and tension on my luckless hero, Jack. So find out what works for you.

BE SELFISH. You have to make time for yourself, and other people have to be told to leave you alone. On the first day of Nano last year, I was getting myslef set up and my wife was pottering about and talking to me. I told her she I needed her to leave me alone now. She gave me a wounded look and barely talked to me for the rest of the month. Which was pretty mean of me, but was also necessary. Incidentally, setting aside the same block of time easch day is slightly less selfish, becuase other people will get accustomed to it and learn to leave you alone. But they'll get very fustrated if you are writing in unpredicatable 15 minute bursts at all sorts of times of the day.

BE REALISTIC. You need to know how long it takes you to write your word count, and allow yourself that time. I've had newbies who have said they really want to do Nano, but when I ask them how much time they are going to set aside, they say half an hour a day. If you want to succeed, you need to back it up with concrete decisions and actions, not good intentions and vague hopes. Incidentally, the other advantage I find of writing in the evening is that you can force yourself to carry on into the wee hours if necessary. If you write in the mornings, you soon have to stop because kids need breakfast or you have to go to work. Again, it is a case of finding what works for you, but try not to fool yourself into choosing an option that is going to make it harder. God knows, Nanowrimo is hard enough without self-sabotage.