I was browsing through the forums over at NaNo and just trying to absorb as much info as I could to quench my insatiable appetite for November’s NaNo.
I came across many posts that offered ideas and things people were doing to help get them in the NaNo mood. So here are a few ideas to get you started.
* Beginning October 1, write a short story everyday until November 1. It will help get you in the writing spirit, and hopefully each day your stories will get longer.
* Play around with a different writing prompt each day.
* Organize and listen to a soundtrack that fits or goes along with your novel. Listening to music can be almost as good as getting along really well with your muse. 
* Create an outline of some kind to get you into the minds of your characters, plot out what major situations might take place.
* Create a character profile, all the way down to favorite music, favorite food, color, thing to wear, place to go, etc., for each character in your story.
* Organize and decorate your writing space. Paint if you want extra inspiration, clean it out, add decorations or toys, that help get your creative juices flowing.
* Put together your writing kit. Make a shopping list of things you might need before November 1. Example: coffee, pens, notepads, sticky notes, chocolate, special rewards for meeting word count goals, etc.
* Read Chris Baty’s book, No Plot, No Problem. If you’ve already read it, read it again. It’s awesome.
* Spend a little time editing last year’s novel or other projects you have in the works. Or jot down ideas for other novels, and projects that you can work on after November (or even begin working on now.)
* Read a few books in the genre you are planning to write for this year. Often, it gives you a new perspective and its nice to see what other authors are doing.
* Create a fun inspiration board. Use magazine photos, words, quotes, and drawings to make it fun.
* Create a novel scrapbook. I did this last year actually. I create a scrapbook ahead of time of each character (found photos online and in magazines that looked enough like my characters to keep my on track), include photos of where they live, where they might work or go to school, favorite activities, etc. I made mine small, but I referred to it a lot during the course of my novel and I love having it now. If that novel EVER gets published, I plan to try to market the scrapbook to go with it.
So what are YOU doing to prepare for NaNo?
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