The first year I did NaNo (2007!), Prep didn't exist. Brandiwyn🎶 and I tried to keep up our word counts with all sorts of tricks. I ended up killing off a character twice - and it wasn't that kind of novel.

The next year Brandiwyn🎶 created the Prep, and I've been sold ever since. Yes, I use a basic framework similar to this when I do novels outside of NaNo, too. I've evolved from a pantser to a prepper, and even some short projects get a miniature outline sometimes.

I know we all have different ways to tackling projects, but I think if we understood outlining better we'd use it to our own devices more effectively.