: Re: I'm not a great pantser; what kind of preparation do I need for NaNoWriMo? I'm very appreciative of NaNoWriMo's "your first step is writing a crappy first draft" credo, and I like the motivation

@Reiling826

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I think NaNoWriMo is a great idea for beginning writers, those who just need to get their butt-in-chair time taken care of. But I don't see a point to it for established writers who already have a system in place that works for them.

What's your ultimate goal for the project? Do you want something publishable, or are you just trying to get words on a page?

If you want something publishable — have you tried to write a novel before? What worked, and what didn't work? You refer to your '"regular" novel writing effort,' but your profile says you only dabble in writing, so maybe your "regular" approach doesn't really work for you. If that's the case, I don't see the point in doing it again!

I've never done a formal NaNo project, but I've certainly written the first draft of a novel within a month. For me, I need to have a clear, almost passionate interest in the character and the setting, and an idea of the main conflict and how it will be resolved. Once that's in place, for me, the details fit in as I type. But I have no idea if this is what will work for you.

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