Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo 2014

I have an announcement to make. This year, I am definitely (You hear me? I mean it!) going to participate in NaNoWriMo. Whether I finish or not is another matter, but I'm going to be writing my little fanny off and giving this rough draft my best try.

Why?

A couple of reasons.

1. I keep saying I'll do it every year and then just don't.
2. I want to see if I can.
3. What's the worst that can happen?

Of course, pursuant to this, I'm going to need to make sure I have a few things close at hand (or at least kept in mind) before I fling myself headlong into the NaNo breach.

1. A story idea. This isn't a problem. I have a story idea that's been fermenting for a while, entitled Necromancy Will Kill Your Dating Life. I haven't actually started it because... well... reasons. It's been percolating more over the course of October, and I think it might be ready to put to the page. Or computer screen. Or whatever.
2. A plan. Normally I'm a pantser. I take to novel planning like a cat to water, but with something like NaNo, I need to be able to belt this thing out as fast as humanly possible. I have a writer friend who can write thousands of words a day. If I can manage that, awesome. But I will need to know where this thing is going to go so I don't stumble over a lack if ideas.
3. A support group. These are all over the Internet. I'll be signing up on the official NaNo site and posting my progress on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
4. Time. At the minimum, I have an hour a day that I can dedicate to writing (assuming I can ignore the distractions hollering for my attention. If I'm lucky, I can probably carve out an additional hour or two in the evening, but I will need to budget my time wisely.
5. Chocolate. ...shut up. I'll need the endorphins,  and chocolate has been scientifically proven to boost inspiration. So there.

Now, if I manage to claw my way through this, you know what I'm going to do with my shiny new NaNo novel? Well, one thing I'm not going to do is send it straight off to a publisher. Hell no. (I've heard of this happening, and I cringe every time.) Part of NaNo is turning off your editor in order to Get Stuff Done, so the rough draft is definitely going to be in the Hemingway Zone.  I'm going to edit this thing until most of the plot holes are repaired and the wrinkles are gone, and then kick it over to a beta reader like I would with any other manuscript, because I want it to not suck.

So that's my plan. (Yay planning!) Now let's see if I can follow through.