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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/3822
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/3822
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I'm very appreciative of NaNoWriMo's "your first step is writing a crappy first draft" credo, and I like the motivation that NaNoWriMo encourages. I'm precisely at the point where what I feel I need most is some serious butt-in-chair routine, with less emphasis on writing well, so this credo suits me well right now.

But I don't feel like I can just start pounding out words at a given cue. I need some sense of plot, setting, character; I don't like [pantsing](https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/11/1046) the entire thing, since my first ideas rarely interest me. I need either a ton of prep work, or else a concept that's very easy to leap straight into and work out as I go along. Right now, I don't have either of these. (I _do_ have a few exciting ideas that require a _ton_ of prep work.)

I want to be able to start typing real words on Nov. 1st; I don't want to risk tripping up by demanding of myself that I produce complex, meticulous prep-work beforehand (that kind of seems to contradict the "just write stuff" ethos). So: is NaNoWriMo a good fit for me? Is there some kind of preparation and planning that would be useful to me? Do I need to go as far as doing all the prep and planning I would for a "regular" novel-writing effort?

Original score: 13