Its not a sprint. Its a month-long marathon of pushing for the coveted 50, 000 words. I know there are a lot of opinions as to whether it is 'pure' or not to organize your thoughts or even outline a story before the bell, but I'm all for it. Why? Because I think it will help you reach your goal.
There are a few ways to go. I'm a huge fan of Randy Ingermanson's Snow Flake Method. Its very step-by-step and you end up with not only plot blocks, an outline, and a rough draft of your synopsis, but you can work your steps into a very nice proposal.
Something I use now and have found works wonderful for visual people is the iPad Index Card ap. You can move scenes around and even import the outline to your computer which is very helpful.
My panster friend makes outlines a la high school. And she weaves incredibly detailed and intricate plots. She's more of a free spirit and loves to just let go and let her characters 'be' but she does do some preparation.
NaNoWriMo may be a great opportunity to get that story that's been scratching in your skull out and on to paper. But as I said before, writing at that pace, without a plan, may result in a meandering mess.
If you have some great organizational ideas, I'd love to hear them. As I get ready for the month of November, I could use all the help I can get.
Until next time...Go Write!