Yes, you are allowed to do hi-fi. Anything is fine, as long as it isn't true.

I've never finished a novel, either, and I sometimes think that the entire project is a bit hopeless, and wonder how on earth I'll get it done. Which is why I've read absolutely everything I could find on NaNo- and JulNoWriMo... ;) But now, after July, hopefully we can revere ourselves! Or some such. Maybe it would be better just to quit all reverence once July ends... ;) I think Aetc agrees. He says ncaz. Is he calling me a future narcissist?

The book reccommends not to do more than a week's worth of research, because people tend to realize that, after everything they've already done and decided with the story, they become overly attatched to it and try to take their time. Taking one's time is impossible for Na/JulNo, so people who do very much research beforehand are actually more prone to give up early on, claiming that they intend to still work on it, but take longer. Most of the time, they give up after about 6 months, according to David Baty (NaNo's founder). But it isn't as if anyone will know that you've done research, so if you think that it will help you, just go ahead. There isn't anything wrong with it, really... But I'm not doing it. Since I already had to lie about my age, my conscience has given me an annoying obsession with following every other rule exactly, so I am. Besides, DB gave a very reasonable argument against much research and planning in his book on NaNo (No Plot? No Problem!), and I don't disagree with him. Also, there are other ways to commit yourself, generally more focused on the act of writing a novel than of writing your novel. I'm using those. For example:

Bragging. Tell everyone you know that you're writing a 50,000-word novel in 31 days. Talk about it so often that they're sure to mock you for years afterwards if you fail. Your fear of embarassment will apparently force you to write a novel.

Treats! Did you just finish a paragraph? Have some chocolate!

Writing partners. If you know anyone well who writes often, try to write together sometimes. This is said to spark competitive instincts; hearing someone else type furiously, like you should be doing, while you just sit, is quite guilt-inducing.

Et cetera. Things like that. And I'm also doing all the research I can, and thinking about it all I can. Eventually, this is bound to drive me crazy. I think each person has different strategies that work for them. Just do whatever you feel most comfortable with.

See? Despite the fact that I'm completely strange to this, I'm giving advice to everyone else and acting like I do JulNo every year! That's my strategy, I suppose.  Sorry if it's annoying, but for me, it really seems to work for some reason... I suppose it serves 2 purposes. It helps me strengthen my obsession/excitement/addiction/anticipation, and it will also probably be quite embarrassing to have written all of this if I myself don't succeed. It's even better than bragging to people who would never dream of trying this, because it's permanent, and can be seen by the entire world. It isn't as if I can just forget about it. *makes mental note to view this thread, as well as the DtE one, whenever quitting imulses occur*

I now remember another Piece Of Probably-Useless-But-Hopefully-Helpful,-Maybe?-No?-Well,-Helpful-To-Me,-So-Please-At-Least-Pretend-To-Read-It-So-That-I,-At-Least,-Will-Be-Motivated (I wonder whether I'm the only person who puts hyphons right next to dashes and question marks) Advice. Don't be intimidated by the word goal. Yes, it's large, but look on the bright side: At least you're not doing it in a 30-day month, like November, or worse, an even shorter month, like February. Completely forget that you would be able to choose Nov's word count goal with the YW; that doesn't matter. Just focus on length! 31 days! And it'll be fun! Hopefully. And if you just keep writing, it might get easier... Hopefully.