A friend of mine posted in the “NaNo Survival Kit Anyone?” thread, on the NaNo forums, which I won’t link to as the forums are getting wiped next week. They wrote a long list of all the things they had been gathering ready for November, everything except planning their novel apparently.

Anyway, I wasn’t sure what to write today, I know it’s day four and I’m already having trouble – this is a bad sign – but at least I’m forcing something out. It’s a minipost and it’s on NaNo which truth be told is consuming more and more of my thoughts as the days go by. Last year it was NaNo and I should have been looking forward to it and I kinda wasn’t, this year I think I’m making up for that meh of last year.

I don’t want to jinx myself but I’m cautiously optimistic that my brain can be retrained. It’s had a couple of years of only thinking about TV, which is probably why last years NaNo was so painful. However, everytime I start thinking about Stargate I’m forcing myself back to asking questions about my novel. I’ve actually managed to quasi-concentrate on that the last couple of days. True I’ve been working as well, so my hands have been busy doing repetitive production work which has perhaps helped focus my mind. Who knows but hopefully I can keep it up. I would like a solid plan this year. Last years fell apart about 500 words in (ok that’s an exaggeration but not by much) and it was brute force that finished it. I don’t want to do that again.

Erm, ok I just seriously got off topic. Back to the survival kit, what do I need/want to have in November.
– Previous years winners t-shirt. I have 4 of these now but only 2012 and 2013 are comfortable to wear as I may have possibly … erm … /hides … put on a bit of weight. Let’s kinda gloss over that and just say winner’s t-shirt to wear during writing time.
– NaNo sweater as I get cold and if I have to cover up my winner’s t-shirt it needs to be with this as a sign that I’m writing. I actually change for a writing session. I suppose it also makes for a visible “do not bother me” sign.
– My NaNo travel mug. I would like a proper mug but they didn’t do them when I bought this one and then the only mug they had in stock last year isn’t dishwasher safe. Anyway I like to have my coffee in this, bonus it stays hot for a long time if I forget to drink it and it’s portable.
– NaNo poster on the wall. There is a sort of theme here. I like to surround myself with NaNo paraphernalia, as if to say “yes, it is that time of year” as it’s like decorating for Christmas, only NaNo is a ‘holiday’ I actually like. I won’t be able to put this up this year as we’re selling the house, so I will have to do without.
– Apocalyptica playing on iTunes. It’s mostly instrumental and it’s also like a film score, only without that mental link to any specific film, so it works like a soundtrack to what I’m writing. Plus I only listen to this when I’m writing so I have a mental association, this is playing, I need to be typing.
– A solid novel plan, preferably bullet pointed scenes, so I can check them off and know what’s happening next. This actually forces me to write some days as I don’t have to think of what to write. This is part of the reason last year was so painful, I didn’t plan properly. I can add scenes in as I go if something needs to be put in, but I need my outline.
– Trillian running for the OA IRC chat. I don’t talk much but I just love having it open. Some say the OA crowd puts them off, as they can’t match up, well just by soaking up the atmosphere I’m inspired to try harder. I doubt I will ever join their ranks, though I would certainly like to, but they kept me going to 50k last year and I needed that.

That might be it actually; NaNo paraphernalia, a solid outline, music and OA chat. Pretty much all I have to prepare for the ‘kit’ is the outline so NaNo prep is in full swing. I really need to do a better job on the plan than last year.

Not much of a post today. I will try and think of a proper topic for tomorrow but at least I actually wrote something, maybe if I can force myself to write something everyday this month, then I will do the same for NaNo, rather than taking weeks off and crazy catch up which is not a good way to do it. Some kind of routine would be better.