How to do NaNoWriMo
How I did it: Discipline, discipline, discipline! Sounds boring but i tried to keep the schedule tight.
After work and after the daily chores (diner, cleaning, phone calls etc..) instead of hanging in front of the TV or surfing on the internet i forced myself to write at least 2 k every night. I actually had a downfall in week 3, around the 30k but I had come so far that I refused to quit at that point! I managed to get inspired again through the comments of all the participants I read on the Nano site and on 43 things. Everybody struggles at one point and that's normal. You just have to write, write, write, even if it's crap!
I also kept a file in which I wrote briefly every plot turn and most descriptions of my main characters. Half of it I eventually didn't use but it can turn out to be helpful for the editing part.
Lessons & tips: Anticipate on the days where you know you are not going to be able to write. I knew beforehand that 2 of the 4 weekends I had were going to be overbooked so the weeks before I wrote 3 to 4 k every day instead of the usual 2k.
And even if you don't feel inspired one day, just try to write at least something. Even if it's just 300 words. Every word counts! The longer you wait to return to your story, the less motivation you will have to plunge back into writing.
Resources: Use Write or Die (http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html)! It helped me a lot! You can set your own goal (for example 2k in 30 minutes) and then it forces you to write, write, write until you have reached that goal!
I also read Chris Baty's book, No Plot? No Problem, which motivated me a lot. It had a handfull of usefull tips too.
