Non-Writing NaNoPrep

NaNoWriMo is about writing. And having fun doing it, and more. NaNoWriMo is about a lot of things, but for me, one important aspect of the month is making time for writing. Moving writing up the ladder of Things That Must Be Done.

So my preparation for NaNovember has included doing more writing, stepping back up to writing every day, and thinking about what I might write. I've made several changes in potential topics, titles, and so forth. I think I have a plan, though I can't say as I have a plot. What I do have is ten characters with names and I'm fleshing out their details, writing up character sketches. I do have one of the major settings of the novel and have even come up with a name for the place - it's a theater. I'm writing up some history about the theater company and where they rehearse and sometimes perform, which isn't the same as the theater company's name.

A character from a short story which is currently out of consideration at a magazine, is making an appearance in this larger novel. She seems to want to be one of the major ten, so I have altered one of the original names and will let her play. And with that, I do know that the book's theater company is going to either take a company retreat to the coast or they might be performing at the coast. That part isn't clear, but this character insists on a trip to the beach, so they will.

But every year I have a few projects I want to get done before NaNovember starts so they are not distractions. There are plenty of things to draw my attention away from the novel without significant items on my to-do list. I didn't have many this year, but there are some.

One thing I will do on Thursday - a day off from all work - is laundry. NaNoEve and my clothes will be all clean and ready for the new novel to begin. Yes, I will have to do laundry during the month, but in the first few days, when the writing energy is high, I want as little else to do as possible so I can capitalize on the first flurry of words. Especially this year when I will be off on NaNoEve, NaNoDayOne, and the day after. I should be able to get this novel going with a large word count.

Today I finished cleaning up the garden, mulching, and putting it to bed for the winter. The late spinach never did take off and I pulled out the one surviving plant and had a bitty snack. I discovered two more ripe spaghetti squash and brought them in. And the garden beds are composted over and we will have awesome soil for next season.

Another major, albeit boring task was to replace all the toilet seats. I made a trip to Home Depot (and then to Lowe's for something Home Depot doesn't carry and Lowe's said they had in stock - but it turned out to not be what I wanted, so that project is actually going on hold until spring or until we find someone to do the actual job than my intended temporary fix). Boring, boring, I know. But the seats needed replacing and now they are. And we have shiny, new, better than the original toilet seats and I don't have to think about it while I'm writing.

I also have spinach bagged up in the freezer and fresh in the refrigerator; frozen homemade chicken soup stock, a bunch of apples and a couple of jars of organic crunchy peanut butter. And tea - I already had the tea from our favorite store in Taos, Wabi Sabi, and from a nice cafe and tea store in Yachats; but I now have soy milk to go with it, and I bought some cans of Amy's lentil soups for quick, healthy meals (which goes really well with the spinach).

I am NaNoReady. And still working on the characters. In five days, two hours and thirty minutes, NaNoWriMo 2013 will begin. Then I will be writing about my Novel In Progress rather than my NaNoPrep.
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