I signed up for NaNoWriMo this weekend. It's my first attempt at the contest and I hope to make it to the end of November with 50,000 words. It's funny, though, I find myself searching Twitter and the Internet for magical insight from those who have blazed the trail before me. Maybe my intense searching is because I started late that I feel like I need to find that divine inspirational needle in a haystack that's going to tell (and show) me how to complete my first novel. Then again, it's probably just plain old procrastination.
I haven't found any magic that is going to finish the writing for me, but I have found some amazing information from authors. Here's the list of my favorite guidance I've stumbled across. Let me know if you've found other valuable information out there.
Dannie Morin's #Plan4WriMo - daily exercises that will take you through the month of October and prepare you for November
Marissa Myer's Writing Process - from initial idea to completed work
Jacqueleen Hale's 20 Days of Desperate Planning - a fun take on getting ready to write with some good ideas to shake up your thoughts and get your creative juices flowing
Ellen Brock's Novel Bootcamp - a thorough workshop from July 2014
Janice Hardy's Fiction University - a step-by-step process that is full of suggestions
Matthew Wright's Three Step Process - from blank page to novel in a few easy steps
Rae Chang's Backstory, Showing, Rhetoricals, and Thoughts - homework from her 2013 Pitch Wars team that goes through some important lessons