And the Countdown Begins

This post started to be about music, but that one will come later in the week. After I compile my playlist for the yet to be titled novel.

Yesterday I went to a meet and greet for people participating in NaNoWriMo in the Boston area. With the exception of a writer's conference, it was the largest group of writers I have seen in one room. About 30. Imagine having that many writers together all in the planning stages of a novel that they're going to write the following week.

Sound intimidating to you? To me, it was comforting. And from the amount of people who do this yearly, a lot of people think the same.

Now that there are 6 days until launch, I'm beginning to stress. There is still a lot of prewriting that needs to be done. Character sketches, plot point tweaking, research - all things I never do. I know that I'm not the only one feeling this odd self-inflicted pressure.

November also marks the beginning of social season hell. If the two women I sat with during yesterday's meet and greet are any indication, November is busy for everyone: work deadlines, holidays, etc.

If you're doing NaNoWriMo or have done it, what were your survival strategies for the prewriting and in process writing?