With NaNo just around the corner, we’ll be focusing on novel writing for the next month and a half. Today, I thought a few links to others’ tips might be useful.

If you’re looking for a little help writing your novel, or you feel that you need a little more structure, Susan Hill is running a creative writing course for free on her blog.

Marie Phillips gives some great all-purpose tips on writing. Tip #6, “Be wary of telling people too much about what you are doing” really strikes a chord with me. I never talk much about a work in progress. The more I talk about it, the less I’m inclined to write it!

If you’re looking for NaNo-specific tips, then Angela Booth has some links that cover getting your novel underway.

Mark Terry talks about the struggle between writing for money and writing for art, and why we choose to write in the first place.

Kate Elliott has some advice for first time science fiction and fantasy writers.

Nano is only three weeks away, so are you ready? Do you have your idea, your outline, and your characters written up?

I’ve done Nano three years so far, and each time I’ve done it with very little preparation. I had an idea and a general idea of where I wanted the novel to go, but that’s it. I reached 50,000 words each time, but the results were mixed. I got two viable rough drafts and one draft that’s absolute swill. What’s more, the two rough drafts were VERY rough; both need extensive rewriting before they’ll be even close to ready to go out.

To be honest, both probably need to be completely rewritten.

While I really enjoy the creativity of writing by the seat of my pants, I don’t enjoy having to rewrite every novel I produce, so this year I’m trying something different. As I’ve said before, I’m working on an outline, using the snowflake method. I’m hoping that this year the rough draft I produce will be much less rough than previous years’ have been.

If you’re not ready to put together a detailed outline, I’d recommend doing some sort of plan for your Nano novel before November. At the very least, know how the novel ends, your main character, and the major catastrophes that will befall the protagonist and how those will move things forward. If nothing else, that will keep you from getting bogged down as the month progresses.

I think the second and third weeks of Nano are the toughest. The first week is easy; you’re excited and the story is still fresh and intriguing. In the second and third weeks, however, you run the risk of having your ideas dry up, or you wander off your original course and get “lost.” If either of those happen, it can be tough to get back on track.

For me, dealing with the sheer exhaustion of writing so much is tough. If you aren’t already writing daily (or nearly every day), then I’d suggest you start now. Also, try to get as much of your word count in your first week as possible; you’ll need the cushion later.

What are your tips for getting through November?