My NaNoWriMo prep work/kit

Websites I use:

Scrivener

Scrivener is more a software but it’s my favorite writing program. It offers more freedom to control formatting and a lot of other very useful features that I couldn’t begin to go into. In my defense, it is a complex and wonderful program. Buying the software/desktop version is $40. However, there is a free 30-day trial, perfect for 30 days of NaNoWriMo 😉

Hemingway app

I love the Hemingway app, it is one of my favorite sites to go to but it is more for editing rather than writing. Simply copy and paste your words into the site and the Hemingway app will highlight complex sentences, adverbs, show if any of your sentences are using a passive voice, and if any of your sentences are hard to read. From there it will show you what reading level you are writing in.

Write or Die

Write or Die is horrendous, intense, yet wonderful writing website. Depending on the consequences if you stop writing different things happen; a picture of a spider might pop up or if you choose the kamikaze mode and you stop writing it will start to delete your words. It really keeps

The Thought Room

The Thought Room can be a really handy website to have in your NaNoWriMo arsenal. If you’re anything like me then your mind is always racing and sometimes you have distracting thoughts. Go to the thought room and simply type whatever is on your mind and watch it float away. It can be very helpful in quieting your mind and helping you focus.

And if you experience negative thoughts about your work or your goals just type them in and watch them fly away from you. It’s quite satisfying.

Rainy Mood

Do you love the sound of rain on the windows? What about the sound of a small storm? I live in Washington and get a lot of rain but on the rare days that it’s not raining here I simply miss it so much that I pull up Rainy Mood. No, not really, but I find the sound soothing and it helps me focus.

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Foods:

Coffee- Coffee is always a necessity in the Littlebookcottage household. The BF and I have been known to experience panic attacks when there is 1 pot worth of ground coffee left.

I’m really excited because I just ordered the Death Wish Coffee and I am really looking forward to trying it! I’m not sure if I’m going to be trying it in the afternoon when I get it (I have a feeling that I’ll be up for hours!) or if I’m going to force myself to wait until the morning and have coffee as usual. I know that waiting until morning is the reasonable and practical option but I have no patience and usually want things now.

Tea- I’ve been known to sip a cup of tea every once in a while. My favorites are peppermint, Paris (by Harney and Sons), and a Blackberry and Sage blend from the Republic of Tea which sounds weird but is delicious.

Candy- The BF is a lover of candy so we always have a plethora of candy available in our house. My favorites are chocolate covered espresso beans, peanut butter chocolate cups, peanut butter snickers. (in case you haven’t noticed I really love peanut butter.) Kit Kat bars, Hersey’s chocolate kisses, and basically anything with chocolate. Luckily for me, the bf isn’t fond of the peanut butter and chocolate combo so I’ve kind of taken advantage of that. Actually, the bf doesn’t like chocolate period. I’m about 90% sure that he’s an alien.

Soups- In general my meal plans are expected to be 30 minutes or less, I don’t like when meals take longer than that to cook. I plan on making some soups, lots of pasta, and I will be using my slow cooker a lot!

CopyKat Gnocchi Soup – This is my second favorite thing to order at Olive Garden (after the salad of course) and I am so happy to have a recipe so I can make it myself
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili I have made this already and it’s fantastic! It’s filling and healthy and it warms you up which is perfect for November.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta This is one of our favorite things to make at home, it’s quick and delicious. It also makes a lot of leftovers. I love it!

Snacks- apples and peanut butter, veggies and hummus, I love having smoothies as a snack, almonds, greek yogurt and fruit. Yes, I am one of those annoying healthy snack eaters.

Supplies:
Pens

Highlighters

Dictionary/Thesaurus- I like having a physical copy, it minimizes the potential for internet distractions. Ignore the travel writing reference books, those are from when I wanted this blog to be a travel blog and I was given these as Christmas gifts. Despite how dusty it is, The Only Grammer Book You’ll Ever Need is so incredibly helpful! I love it.

Notebooks

Laptop

Prompt Jar- A while ago I searched for writing prompts on Pinterest. I picked out my favorites and printed them all out and now they reside in this jar. So if I’m writing and I get stuck, I’ll pull out a writing prompt and start writing from there.

note cards- I outline with note cards and then tape them to a huge poster board for a visual guide of how I would like my story to go.

Flash drive- think of a flash drive as an insurance policy. It ensures that your work will not be lost. You absolutely do not want to lose your work.

Character worksheets- I discovered these through Pinterest as well, they’re little questionnaires for your characters. The more you know about your characters the more life like they are to your readers. I like having these nearby for a multitude of reasons; they help me see how a character is more likely to react in a situation.

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My story: I honestly don’t know what story I am going to do yet, I have a draft of one story that I worked on during NaNoWriMo last year, that story is 12,000 words in so I’m trying to decide if I want to take on that story do I add on the 50,000 word goal onto the existing 12,000?

or.

I have another story idea in the making, I have some characters ready, some situations and scenarios but no plot, which sucks because I love this character that I created but I don’t know how to tell her story yet.

Eventually I want to start posting my short stories to Wattpad, and eventually, I want to enlist some other book bloggers to read my big WIP, and give some constructive criticism. My goal is to start that hopefully in the new year.

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 I’m hoping to post updates weekly where I’ll talk a little bit about my story and also I’ll probably talk about the meals I’ve made, probably review the Death Wish Coffee, and anything else that has been on my mind.

So that’s it for my NaNoWriMo prep kit, I still have a couple things to take care for my stories, like decide and outline. But I’ll get there.

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Thank you for reading!

If you’re participating in NaNo leave your buddy name down below in the comments so we can be buddies! If you are participating good luck, may the force be with you, and I wish for all the words to come to you!

If you are participating good luck, may the force be with you, and I wish for all the words to come to you!

Take care,

Cassidy