We’re now less than a month away from NaNoWriMo and let me tell you, the excitement is really starting to build! The new NaNoWriMo site has been uploaded and the forums have been wiped clean.
Now is the time to check out the forums and look up your regional forums. Many Municipal Liaisons, or MLs, schedule regional write-ins where the WriMo’s in your area gather to write together. This is a great way to meet other writers in your area, and these meetings can be very helpful and even competitive. With prompts, advice, and even some word wars could ensue; the goal of which is to see who can write the most words in the allotted space of time. Of course, if you’re not up to getting out of the house you can always find word wars on the forums.
There are also forum threads for finding buddies. Do not underestimate having buddies to chat with on your month long journey to 50K. Buddies are great to talk with, challenge, and to help raise spirits as the month passes. Last year was my first year attempting the NaNoWriMo challenge, and I was attempting it alone. Now, I’m not saying that not having any buddies was my only down fall in losing last year. What I want to say is that it would have helped quite a bit to have someone to talk to about my novel, and the troubles I was having during the month. Go searching in the forums (your regional, genre, or age group) and find a thread where people are looking for buddies! I would suggest looking at some of the profiles and their novel info pages, so that you find someone with common interests or an interesting novel. You don’t want to have one side conversations, now do you? ? There’s one more buddy outlet you might also want to consider: your family. This year I’m lucky enough to have not only my mother writing, but two of my aunts as well. Now if I could only get my husband to write as well…