NaNoWriMo Part 3: Final Details and NaNoWriMo Account

Welcome to part three of my NaNoWriMo series. Today we're talking about the final details you might want for your novel, some of which you may or may not need, and all about NaNoWriMo accounts. Shall we dive in?

Final Details

There are a few last things besides your outline, character notes, and worldbuilding that you might want before you dive into the all important part of actually writing your novel in thirty days. They are: chapter divisions, beginning, and scene ideas. I'll go over them one at a time and why they might be helpful.

First, chapter divisions. For me, it's useful to know where the chapter breaks are and what exactly is in each chapter. That way I can make sure my chapters come out similar lengths. This doesn't always happen, like in last years novel which ended up with a couple of gigantic chapters among the others.

The idea of figuring out your beginning I picked up from the Ready, Set, Novel! book. (It's written by the founder of NaNoWriMo and you should totally read it and No Plot, No Problem.) It has an exercise where you play around with different ways to open your novel, so you avoid that staring at the page or screen for hours while you decide the perfect opening for your masterpiece. See how that can be helpful?

And scene ideas. We all have ideas for scenes we'd like to put in, whether they're actually helpful or just fluff. Either way, you should keep a running list of scenes to include and refer to it frequently. I've often forgotten scenes I wanted to put in because I didn't write it down.

NaNoWriMo Account

You don't need an official account to participate or win NaNoWriMo. But there are several reasons why it's good to have one. 1) You can fill out your novel information and win badges for motivation. 2) Connection with other writers. There are forums, regions, and buddies so you're never noveling alone. 3) A word counter so you feel responsible. 4) A winners certificate and deals on things like Scrivener if you win.

As you can see, having an account is super helpful. It's also super easy to set up. I'll walk you through it. First, go to www.nanowrimo.org. You'll see a sign up button on the left, as well as information to the right. Click the button.

Once you've clicked it, just fill in the information they ask you. You have to be at least thirteen and have an email, or one you can borrow. Choose your username carefully, it can't be changed. Later, you can add a profile picture and fill in the rest of your information.

From now on, when you pull up the website, you'll see your dashboard. It shows your novel, your badges, and has links to everything you need. Take time to fill in your profile and novel information and explore the site so you can find everything you need come November.

Yes, I blacked out the title of my novel. I'll be announcing that tomorrow, so unless you find me on the NaNoWriMo site, you'll have to find out then. (P.S. If you want to be buddies, just drop me a comment below.)

So, that's all for part three. Don't forget to read part one and part two if you haven't seen them yet.

Which final details do you like to have before you start writing? What's your favorite thing about the NaNoWriMo website? Let me know in the comments.