So today I've finished OctoPrep, have fallen more than 72 hours behind twice due to a travel abroad, but the whole experience was still a positive one.

In December two years ago, as I was walking home in the snow, an idea got stuck in my mind. I'd never really considered writing anything serious, but this particular idea was special. It wasn't the usual novel idea with the hero and the heroine, the good and the bad, but something more. I wanted to explore it. I'd written quite a few pages before, but nothing serious. But this particular idea, it had the feeling of 'has to be written'.

So I spent the next two years drawing cities, castles, maps and characters. I tried seeking originality, things that had't been done before. Last December, I decided to actually start writing, but couldn't spill out a word. I had the story's outline in my mind, but didn't know where to begin. I wrote about six chapter ones, but scrapped all of them. I gave up.

That was a few days after Christmas eve. In January, the story found me once again, and I decided to look for a place to hone my skills. I found WDC, and learned about NaNoWriMo. Decided that I'd start seriously working on my project from summer, and that I would pursue my dreams no matter what people tell me.

I've entered OctoPrep with the outline revised in my mind, with multiple maps plotted out, and a plethora of characters already drawn.

Then came the first day. Premise/Idea. Protagonist. I started thinking. I have this guy and this gal, they are both in the focus, but not as much as this man, and ...

I realised how little I knew about my project. Two whole years of plotting and preparation worth almost nothing but a 'good idea' to start with. I created an excel database and started sorting everything out. I spent the whole of the second week filling out this database, even doing the freestyle brainstorm within. I ended up with more than 40 characters described and voiced to the level that I could talk about each of them for minutes. I still don't know if I'm going to use all of them.

I've made a setting list. All drawings received their own climate, name, geographical location, demographic details and so on. I detailed each and every room, every corner for my novel. Things started to look consistent, I started to think that I could actually write the novel.

I searched my school materials for a sheet I'd put away two years ago. It used to be part of my Biology exercise book, but it does not contain pictures of animals or cells. It was my first ever outline, a flowchart of some sort. Fully comprehensible for me, but quite strange for everybody else. It could easily find its place on google image's first page for the search term 'confusing flowchart'.

I finished typing it into the excel table, only to realise I've left out half the subplots. Start over. Finished once again, but there's a storyline missing. I fought for hours, and finally got a pretty-much chronological outline. I wasn't in need of much time since my worldbuilding was already done.

Looking back at OctoPrep, I must say it was invaluable. I think it's a good way to plan a novel, and would do it outside NaNoWriMo's bounds too. In fact, I've archived the html site with the links and assignments, so I can 'OctoPrep myself' any time of the year.

And here I am, prepared to write my first novel. I could say there's two years of hard work behind it, but I'd lie. There's a month of hard work, and two years of slacking without the courage to begin. I'm looking forward to November, and of course, to seeing my novel unfold and - even if it's only on my shelf, printed in the corner paper shop - in a physical form.

Please, feel free to share your thoughts on OctoPrep. My question for you:

Would you do these assignments on your own before writing a novel, even if it's not for NaNoWriMo?