Growing Hoofs

Sometimes, the best way to get ready to begin a writing project is to just start. Plunge right in. Other times, it will probably behoove you to plan. I love that word, behoove. Of course it means fitting, advantageous, of benefit. But I imagine something different. I imagine when I write it, that I am magically growing hoofs, outfitting myself to run like a mustang to my goal. That's what I've been doing for a while now, growing hoofs for NaNoWriMo, when I (and many others)will write 50,000 words in 30 days.
Part of the getting ready, the hoof-growing, is practical and solid work, like outlining and doing research and some free writes to find a voice. But a lot of it is impractical, magical. A lot I do while I'm walking my dogs or driving. It is surprising how much writing gets planned this way. I have had many musician friends over the years, and they occassionally do something called 'woodshedding.' It means thinking about music, not writing or even playing it much, but just kind of noodling around for a few days or weeks. It primes the pump. Writers do this, too. Sometimes when people say they have writer's block, they're really just woodshedding, getting their brains and body prepared for the next big effort. You can give yourself permission to do this, when you have a good feeling that it will result in solid work. And you will know, when you are thinking 90% of the time about your characters, what will happen when, how ice crystals are formed, or anything pertaining to your project. Daydreaming is good for writers, it is necessary. I still get a lot of grief for it, from various quarters, but I have learned to pay no attention. I grow my hoofs when I need to. You should, too.