On writing tools….
One NaNoWriMo years ago, I went to a group write-in and saw someone lugging around a really awesome old keyed typewriter as their tool of preference for writing. Awesomely cool, but heavy. A few like to hand write their novels, and then scan their notes in to get their final count. But most people use software of some kind.
I usually have one MS Word Doc, and one MS Excel spreadsheet. I keep all my notes, characters, etc. in my Word document, because it all counts towards that magic 10K number. Plus MS Word has a very easy way of keeping track of how many words you have typed. I use that number in my Excel spreadsheet, which is used to tack my daily goals and progress. There is a formula that adjusts my daily goal based on my progress. This helps me to keep motivated!
This is all in a Dropbox folder that I can access anywhere, including on my phone. That way if I find myself with any spare time, I can pull up my manuscript and add more words to the count. You can easily use Google Docs, or even more professional tools that will help you organize your story, like Scrivener.
Ad victoriam!