6 Days and Counting

In less than a week National Novel Writing Month begins, and for the entire month of November writers around the globe will be writing like maniacs to get 50,000 words done in thirty days. It's crazy, and crazy fun, and if you've never tried but want to I encourage you to do so. Everyone has a book in them, and NaNoWriMo gives you the opportunity to get it out and take it for a wild ride.

I've rifled through the PBW archives and pulled these links to help get your engine started:

Word count widgets: links to the official and unofficial NaNoWriMo progress meters so you can track and share how well you're keeping up.

Micro-Outlining: If you want to outline but find the usual templates and worksheets daunting, try my SCARAB approach to micro-outling.

Naming: If you're having a tough time coming up with character names, try this online random name generator that you can customize with gender, nationality and even some genres.

Organize: Hiveword is a free online novel writing organizer that can help you map out your story before you write it.

Pep Talk: I wrote this post a few years back to offer some ideas on how to cope with pre-Nano fears and doubts.

Story Carding: for an alternative and fun way to outline your novel, try this idea that uses trading cards you make with a free online generator.

I'll also be around throughout the month of November to offer advice, encouragement, helpful links and otherwise shake my NaNo pom poms for you all. In the meantime, if anyone has any questions or is looking for a particular resource related to NaNoWriMo that can't wait, let me know in comments and I'll see if I can help.