Holy buckets!
It's the last full weekend before NaNoWriMo begins, and I'm still coming to terms with what happens when your hard drive dies. Aieeeeyyye! I don't usually declare National Back Up Your Novel day until the first week of November, but please: Take this weekend and back up that computer! Mozy. Dropbox. Fourteen key chain thumbdrives you bought at that strange guy's garage sale down the street. It doesn't matter. However you do it, back up those novel notes. And vacation photos! And fonts! And songs!
And while I'm offering some bossy advice:
1) Be sure to plan to go to your area's NaNoWriMo kick-off party or November 1 midnight write in! To find out about NaNo get-togethers in your area, sign into the NaNo site and head to the My Regions page. Affiliate with the region closest to you, then visit the NaNo forums and scroll down to the very bottom, where your new Regional Lounge awaits!
2) Recruit some noveling co-conspirators. One of the surest ways to get to 50K is to charm or threaten your friends and family into taking the NaNoWriMo plunge alongside you. Misery loves company! And there's nothing like seeing your mother outpacing your word count to spur you on to new heights of productivity.
3) Go on a plot walk! It may seem like a waste of time, but trust me: Heading out rambling for an hour or so this weekend with a notebook and pen is a great way to feed your imagination and further (or start!) your story. If it's too cold for a walk where you live, go for a drive. If it's snowing too much to drive, lie on the floor and eat chocolate. That also helps.
Have a great weekend, everyone! We're at 71,285 authors and counting, a new NaNoWriMo record for this point in October!
Having trouble controlling the exclamation points,
Chris
NaNoWriMo
