Fast Start for NaNoWriMo Day 20 - p**t - 2 Days until...

[ladyseishou]

All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination.

- Earl Nightingale




There are two more days until the start of NaNoWriMo, Nano Writers! This week we've talked about drawing up a "map" of events for our story...

We know the plan: to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. On the face of it, this may seem like a daunting task but now we have a map...

• Our characters: the protagonist, the antagonist, and a backseat crew of allies and friends.
  
  
• Where we're starting from: the where and when for our protagonist
  
  
• Where we're going: the what and why that answers the question about what our protagonist wants so badly that he or she will do almost anything to get it/woo it/fix it/stop it...

Which leaves us with the rest: the how. And you've got a generous 50,000 words (not to mention 30 days) to tell us how your protagonist overcomes all the evil-cool and nearly insurmountable obstacles thrown at her (or him) by your antagonist and his (or her) nearly gravitational need to keep your protagonist from obtaining his (or her) heart's desire.

And this is something that you can do! In fact it is something only you can do because it is your story and your protagonist's story to tell. And no matter how you do it, working from a detailed 40k outline or starting with a blank page on November 1st, you can do it!

What it all comes down to, all what you really need, is the courage to let the story that is inside you come out.

It won't be pretty, in fact it will no doubt be pretty messy. The birth of anything is a messy affair. But you have the courage to acknowledge this raw thing, even full of mistakes and bits that dangle and stumble around in awkwardly embarrassing ways. This first draft, ugly as it may seem, is truly both powerful and beautiful because you will make real something that did not exist before - your story as words on paper.

And now for a bit of advice: have the courage to keep everything. Edit nothing. If in the event that you feel you have written something that is somehow so repugnant, so offensive as to keep you from writing another single word, try this trick recommended last year by one of our Nano Writers: change the color of the text to match your editor's background color - the words will no longer be viewable until... yes, it is possible that you will want those words back (it does happen) and it will be a happy matter to rescue the exiled words with a click or two in your editor.

So...


The countdown continues tomorrow, Nano Writers! Until then, keep writing!

Comments

[way2dawn]

I'm going to need to remember to keep everything and not try to edit as I go. I have a major perfectionist streak that I'm going to need to keep in check.

But I'm soooo excited for November. I can't wait to start :)

[notunbroken]

I have a major perfectionist streak that I'm going to need to keep in check.
Ugh, same here. I'm a perfectionist to the point of not being able to move on until I have the *perfect* word chosen, the most pleasing syntax, etc. It's definitely not very conducive to writing quickly. And I think it actually adds to my tendency to procrastinate.

I'm hoping that having such a large daily word goal will help with this.

[remolay]

I am ready to finally write a story worth reading. I tried this when I was 12, I think, and my only idea was because I was doing a series of Drabbles about my cat. Now I have an actual character and he's is expanding in my mind each day.