(Day 6 of Post-A-Day Challenge)

On the various lists and communities to which I belong, I’m beginning to see more postings about things people are doing to prepare for the upcoming NaNoWriMo challenge.  I’ve seen people who already have detailed outlines for half of their novel, and others who are writing lengthy character studies, and doing research for details that will be important to their stories.

Those are all fine things to do, and if I was the kind of writer who could write to an outline, or knew in advance what research needed to be done, I could do them.  Since my planned novel this time out is a sequel, I don’t have too many new characters to profile.  But I am prepping for NaNoWriMo…in my own way:

1. Installing New Keyboard:  While I will probably write most of this year’s novel on my netbook, there’s a chance that I might want to use my desktop computer from time to time.  Given that, last night I decided to finally get around to installing the new ergonomic keyboard I bought six months ago after I broke one of the little prop-up feet on the back of my old one.  Coincidentally, it turned out that one of my co-workers had just been given the same model of keyboard by the company’s IT department, only she didn’t want an ergo keyboard.  So we traded out, and now I have the same keyboard at work and at home.  Nice.
2. Prepping the Playlist:  Sometime last spring, we transferred our music library to a much larger external hard drive.  Unfortunately, that process somehow wiped out my entire NaNoWriMo music playlist.  I re-built about half of it, but I need to get the rest of it put back together sometime between now and November.
3. Making Some Userpics:  Because I keep my personal blog on LiveJournal, and that’s where I’ll be squeeing to my friends about the ups and downs of NaNoWriMo, I need to create some 100 x 100 icons/userpics to decorate those postings.  I do still have the ones I’ve used in previous years, but I always like to have some new ones, too.
4. Cleaning My Desk:  Like everyone–well, almost everyone–my desk in my home office can get a bit cluttered from time to time.  So sometime in the next couple of weeks, I need to take a few minutes to de-clutter it, and maybe even give it a dusting.  I need to bring up the hot pot I bought so I’d be able to make tea in there on those chilly November nights, and I need to stock a selection of tea and a cup or two.
5. Stocking the Freezer:  Since I’m watching my weight this year, I need to stock my freezer with healthy, low-calorie foods that I can toss in the microwave and eat for quick meals that won’t keep me away from the keyboard for too long.  I need to make sure I have a few treats around that aren’t too bad for me (though thankfully, I never really got into the habit of eating while writing).  And I have to make sure Beloved Husband doesn’t starve, either.
6. Storing Up Blog Ideas:  I plan to post updates on my progress here, but it would be nice if I had a few other entries during the month, too.  Wouldn’t it?  So I’ve already begun to make lists of potential blog topics that I can write about when I need a quick break from NaNo.
7. Finishing Current Editing Projects:  I know from past experience that it’s really difficult for me to be writing on one project while editing another.  So my goal is to have finished up my current editing pass on the first Winterbourne book prior to the beginning of November.  (This all assumes that my critique group, due to review the last section of the novel in a couple of weeks, doesn’t up and tell me that the ending sucks and I have to re-write the whole thing from scratch.)

Which ought to be plenty to keep me busy between now and the beginning of November!

So is anyone else participating in NaNoWriMo this year?  Any past participants?  What did you do/are you going to do to get ready?