It’s almost time for NaNoWriMo 2012. I’m excited, and a little nervous.

These are the selection of tools I’ll be using for the month, going clockwise from the top:

* My netbook. The Netronomicon. It’s getting on a little now, and decorated with last year’s NaNoWriMo stickers from my lovely MLs. The charge isn’t great and I no longer have MS Word, but it’s where the work gets done.

* Coffee. My lifeblood. If I’m not drinking coffee, I’m probably not awake.

* Scene Cards. I’m adding to these all the time, but they’re my rough guide to the book. The blue cards on top are my character continuity notes.

* iPad. It’s a fairly new addition. I’ll be getting a keyboard for it soon so that I can type in a more portable way.

* The Magnificent and Horrifying Lugia. He’s standing in for my iPhone, used to take this photo. The iPhone is used for fitting music, for keeping my schedule and for any research I can find out in seconds. If it takes longer, I write “>>>” to go back to.

* Back to School Pad. The project’s set in a school. I felt it was fitting. I keep character studies, location guides, notes, rough scenes, lines of dialogue and any media to check out in here. I also have a list of common baby names from 1997 for any extras.

* Pens. I collect these like my brother does lighters. I either have a million or none. Luckily it normally borders on the ‘million’.

* Whisky. Because I’m mortal, I’m a writer, and I have needs, damn it.

In addition to these tools, I have people who will help me:

* Steve. The webmaster of Faked Tales and proofreader. He’s normally the first person to tell me when I’ve gone insane on a project.

* Alex. The proofreader who gives the fastest hit of information and knows all the terrible things I watch so he knows if I’m skirting too close to any other media.

* Graham. The gun nut. One of the nicest human beings… with a ton of knowledge about firearms. Really useful for this project.

So now, finally, I am ready. In eight hours I’ll be getting ready to set off for work, to write on my commute, my lunch break, my commute back and then the hour before the NaNoWriMo party. I can’t wait.

Thanks to everyone who’s followed me, who’s read the articles, and to my wonderful helpers. I’ll still be making a few posts here, especially to tease my post-NaNoWriMo projects. I hope you’ll stick around, and I hope you’ll have an amazing NaNoWriMo!

Charles Etheridge-Nunn

Writer of Play Dead, NaNoWriMo 2012.