The countdown has started and soon writers taking part in NaNoWriMo will fall off the map for 30 days. Kick-off parties are being held and preparations are being made in the form of notes, notifications to family and friends, acquisition of writing aids (like snacks, music and writing buddies) and extensive mental preparation.

At my local kick-off party (go see pics at a fello WriMo’s blog), I met some of my fellow writers in the Pretoria (South Africa) region. Some were very vocal, some were very quiet and some were those gems of people who actually went to a lot of effort to welcome old and new participants. I now have a Writer’s Block sitting on my desk (okay, fine, it’s sitting on my calligraphy box on my desk), two plot bunnies (a blue origami bunny I folded myself and a plush bunny I actually won), my inner editor – soon to be incarcerated – and a tiny, noisy stress ball.

One of the most useful things I got was the little inner editor stick girly (you will see her in the feature pic). How on earth is this little googly-eyed ice lolly stick supposed to be of any help, you ask? Well, first off I need to explain the concept of inner editors.

The inner editor is that part of any writer that nitpicks about everything from spelling, grammar, character inconsistencies to plot holes. The sad part is, for most writers, this inner editor is a crippling, mean-spirited critic telling them that their work is terrible and that they should do the world a favour and just stop writing. And because this inner editor is a part of you, it knows exactly how to get you down in the dirt and keep kicking you where it hurts.

So, to make sure that my inner editor does minimal damage to my word count during November, I’m going to make a little cage for the effigy I have been provided with. Every time I start going back and changing things I suddenly realise don’t make sense or make the story sound stupid or are unusable for some other obscure reason, I will look at my incarcerated inner editor and smirk at it. In the words of Silver Knight Gothic (Dragon Hunters), I shall tell it firmly, “I do not fear you, ugly thing! My heart is pure as a freshwater spring!” and simply continue writing.

Best of luck to all the WriMos out there!