Initial advice for Nano newbies

First thing you have to come to terms with is that Nanowrimo doesn't last one month. Not unless your some sort of agraphobic freak on a drip with a colostomy bag. When you think about the amount of time you will actually spend writing, tt probably lasts between 60 and 120 hours, depending on how long you can actually commit to writing. So that's between two and a bit and five days. So during your actual writing time, you're looking at about 400-800 words an hour.

That, I hope, makes you somewhat nervous.

Of course, there are crazy people who spend ten hours at a time typing away but I don't think you want to be like them. Not only must they literally have NO LIFE, but it must be excruiating spending so much time with your novel. By the end of the month, your novel will be like a party, full of people you hate. You won't be able to leave soon enough. One of my big motivations for writing quickly is Getting It Over With.

Every year, I get newbies who say they can maybe write for 15 minutes, twice a week, and ask if I think that will be enough ... No. You need to work out how much time you will need, and make sure you can find it in the day. Doesn't matter if it is 11pm-1am, or 1pm-3pm when the child is having his afternoon nap. For me, it usually 9pm-Midnight. Hopefully, at that time, the children are in bed. My wife is very understanding and just leaves me alone.

So the first batch of questions I want you to answer are:

- When you are going to write? I'm a creature of habit, and I think you can train your creativity to switch on, if you develop good work habits.

- Are you being realistic about how much you will be able to write in that time? If you are going to amble along at 200 words an hour, you're going to need to set aside a lot more time. And you need to know this in advance.

- How will you make sure you aren't going to be disturbed? Family and friends often think 'support' means annoying you and distracting you. Children will demmand attention if they know you're trying to focus on something other than them. I can't see any hope for someone who says "I'll write 1667 words in half an hour while the children are watching Blue's Clues."