6 productive writing things to do while waiting for NaNoWriMo to start

I don’t know about you but there are still a few hours left to go before National Novel Writing Month starts in my neck of the woods and for some time zones there are many hours left before the starting pistol. But instead of sitting here chomping at the bit like a lunatic, here are five useful things you can do in this time before you actually start writing your novel.

1. Pick out character names. Remember how I said not to bother naming your characters? Well that was because it’s a waste of time during the actual contest. But in the hours before the contest begins? Go for it! Pour over baby name sites and dictionaries for that really deep and symbolic name for your character. Then you’ll be all ready to go when the clock ticks midnight.
2. Outline the story (or just the first few chapters or paragraphs). If you haven’t already outlined your story, now is a great time to do it. Even if you have outlined your story, do a more detailed outline of just a single chapter. Outlining is a way to get your head in the world of your story even if you’re not ready to start writing yet.
3. Do some research. Were you toying with the idea of having your character be a fisherman? Do some quick research about the profession online. Not only will this save you the time of having to do it while you are writing, it will inspire you so you’ll be in a better place when the contest officially starts. Also, you may find out details you never even thought of incorporating that will inform your future plot choices.
4. Tell someone about your story. Relative, significant other, complete stranger or whoever happens to be in earshot, tell them everything you have so far with your story. Even if you don’t have much, simply talking your story aloud is a great way to give yourself more ideas and start to work through the plot without actually writing a word. Sometimes your listener can also give you great ideas on where to go next if you are stuck.
5. Write…something else. A blog post. A really long email. A school paper. Do some writing that has nothing whatsoever to do with your novel. Even if it’s unrelated (and even if it isn’t fiction) it will get the pen moving and your creative juices flowing so that you are in the right mindset when the clock actually ticks over and you can start your novel.
6. Just start early! Seriously, it’s not even against the rules as long as you only count words written in November and then you’ll have some momentum as you cross past midnight. Do eeeet!

So, how are you spending your time before NaNo starts?

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