As originally posted here by NaNoWrimo Founder Chris Baty. Today, he shares three things to keep in mind while you storm up ideas for November:

We’ve got some good news and some bad news about your novel.

The good news is that, whether you realize it or not, you already have a ton of great material for your book. The juicy, hilarious, heartbreaking ideas that will eventually form the core of your novel are all around you now.

They’re hiding in conversations among your coworkers, they’re stuffed into your favorite songs, and they’re tucked into the machinations of the questionable reality TV show you watched last night. Some great ideas even stow away inside bad ideas—their brilliance becoming clear only when you work off the gunk concealing the genius.

Now for the bad news. You won’t be able to fit every great idea or interesting scenario you come up with during these next few weeks into a single story. Your job now is twofold: to churn out great amounts of noveling fodder and then to cherry-pick the most intriguing ideas to blend up into a story. Happily, this is fun, inspiring work. In fact, some writers love the brainstorming phase so much that they forget to actually write the book they’ve spent years planning. This will not be your problem.

As you work to find new book ideas—or supplement ones you’ve already cooked up—there are three things to keep in mind.

Ideas are like celebrities. They’re unstable, they’re attention hogs, and they never do their share of the laundry. On the plus side, they’re also highly sociable—once you get a couple, others will show up to keep them company. Ponder your book whenever you have a free moment, and know that once you get an intriguing notion or two to show up at your brainstorming party, the entourage won’t be far behind.

Document everything. Fill a notebook with every creative spark the moment it occurs to you, no matter how small it seems or how confident you are that you’ll remember it later. Every writer is tormented by the unforgettable plot twist she ended up forgetting. Also, be sure to jot down interesting notions, even if you’re sure they won’t fit into your current novel. If they don’t fit in the story you’re writing now, they may be perfect for its sequel.

Two stormy brains are better than one. Whether you have a few scattered ideas or a full-fledged plot, share what you’ve got with a friend, and then brainstorm some possible big-picture story directions together. If you end up using some of his suggestions, you can take him out for a thank-you dinner on your yacht when you first royalty check comes in.