NaNoWriMo Dreamwidth Writers

Day 31 - hours until the start of NNWM

Never think you alone write a story.
You work with a combination of your own talents,
your characters’ powers, and sheer good luck.

— Judy Doenges



Just a few more words of advice Nano Writers...

• Make it your goal to write at least 1,667 words a day. Write more when you can and bank those words for the wordless days - they will happen.
  
  
• Make time to write by getting up a little earlier or staying up a little later when you can. Write on the bus or train. Write while you eat your lunch or dinner. Write while the kids nap. Even ten words here and there can add up in big ways.
  
  
• Embrace the typo. Love the purple prose. Do what you have to do to get the story out of your head and on paper even if it's certifiably so bad not even your mother could love it. You're writing a first draft. It will not be pretty or anything like good. But it will be "on paper" and ready for the next step - editing. If you spend all your time rewriting your first chapter until "it's just right," you might have a great beginning but your story will be missing "the end" and probably everything in between. Get it done. Then get it right.
  
  
• Don't over-think. Trust your story-telling instincts. Have fun!
  

The starting line is in sight and we'll be with you throughout the month when we start our annual daily countdown. Please feel free to comment to these posts with questions or comments or excerpts of your daily writing. We're here to cheer for one another and to help when the going gets tough with an ear or a word of advice. So don't be shy!

Again, as always, except for the countdown posts, November is a post-free month and to make this easy for everyone, posting will be moderated for the month. However, we do encourage any member with a community-service oriented message they would like to share, to contact the community admin. Posting will again be available beginning December 1 and throughout the year until November 1.

The beginning draws near Nano Writer... get ready to write! Good luck!

Day 27 - 4 days until the start of NNWM




Like your premise, your back cover copy should focus on what your story is really about but…

You didn’t think that you got all those extra words without a catch right? This is your chance to really sell your story to your potential readers. That’s right. Almost all shoppers, after picking up a book (that’s the book cover’s job) will flip it over and read the back copy and sometimes that’s all that stands between the reader putting it back on the shelf (or virtual shelf) or actually taking the time to open the book and read a bit of the first chapter.

And yes, the back cover copy is usually written after the novel has been through many drafts and often by professional editorial staff but…

Why not take a few minutes to expand on your premise and add in your “hook” - the thing that makes your story different - at least what makes it interesting and dare I say fun? for you.

Questions? Comments? Copy to share? It’s all good! So keep writing!

Day 25 - 6 days until the start of NNWM




I also like to make up lists of character names appropriate for the setting of my story. Sure tags like “Bad Guy 2” work in a pinch but it can be fun picking out a name from my Go-To list, imagining the character behind a name like Peter Gunner and James Whitelock (culled from an actual list of constables recruited for London’s first Metropolitan Police Force).

And if you haven’t already: make a Cast of Characters list for your story and a list of your Settings. At some point during the writing process, you’ll be very happy you have them. Trust me on this.

Questions? Comments? Recommendations for favorite Baby Names web site? Keep writing, Nano Writer!

Day 23 - 8 days until the start of NNWM

The creative process is as mysterious and as personal
as each of us. It is about trusting our instincts in the
face of self-doubt.

- Alan Watt




There are just 8 more days until the start of NaNoWriMo, Nano Writers! Monday we'll begin a series of "housekeeping" exercises before we count down those last final days to November 1! So keep writing!

Day 21 - 10 days until the start of NNWM




Today we embrace left-brain thinking and spend a little time looking at numbers as we assemble the skeletal pieces of our story based on our FSN lists for the opening, the catalyst (First Plot Point or inciting event), the midpoint, the events after the “all is lost moment” (Second Plot Point) and the ending.

Of course, the assembly of these key events for your story should be one of your own choosing but for simplicity and example, I have selected a popular outline/plotting method called the Save the Cat “beat sheet” by Blake Synder which itself is based upon the classic three-act structure for narrative fiction: set-up, conflict and resolution.

Yep, that’s right, Nano Writer, when it comes down to it, all you need to tell your story is a set-up, description of the inevitable conflict that comes out of your set-up, and how it all comes out in the end.

So, you ask, if that’s all you need, what’s with all the numbers? Wasn’t Friday suppose to fun? Well, for me numbers are fun… let me show you ( how… )

So do all stories follow this scheme? No, of course not. But many do.

And I imagine now what some of you are asking: what of creativity and spontaneity? Doesn’t following this plan lead to the worse kind of formulaic pulp fiction?

Why should it? It’s your story, your hero, your protagonist’s desires and abilities and character faults. Your antagonist too. And when the bad guys close in - it is your particular battles that will be fought and won or lost.

Still not convinced? Tell me then, gentle Nano Writer, what the movies Inception and The King’s Speech have in common besides nominations for Best Motion Picture? You guessed it if you said that the beats for both stories fit the “Save the Cat” Beat Sheet.

So get with the beat and try the “Save the Cat” Beat Sheet on for size. Questions? Comments? Favorite movie? It’s all good - so keep writing!

Day 19 - 12 days until the start of NNWM




Yesterday we made a list of possible situations or causes that would entice our hero from the comforts and safety of home and to begin his or her quest. Today, we’re going to make a new list of events that will completely change the game for both our characters and our readers, sometime by the middle of the story, by filling in the blanks for this sentence:

My hero thought that s/he wanted ( reason for leaving “home” ) but what s/he discovers by the middle of the story is that s/he needs to ( new goal or action ) because ( new, surprising information that changes/challenges everything ).

Remember, this is just a list of possible plot twists, Nano Writers - you may not hit on just the right one until you’re ready to write the actual scene next month. So be creative! Have fun! And keep writing!

A side note: unfortunately I am, as they say, a little under the weather - sporting a flashy fever of 102 F. and trying my best to cough up a lung so responses may be a little slow in coming but they will! So keep writing!

Day 17 - 14 days until the start of NNWM




An easy beginning for the week Nano Writers: give some thought as to how your story ends. This isn’t a trick question. It’s just a thought exercise about how you might like to see the end of your story go down and to shake up any preconceptions you might unconsciously harbor about story endings: the hero doesn’t always ( have_to_win… )

Questions? Thoughts? “Closing” arguments to share? It’s all good! Tomorrow we’ll look at another pivotal moment for our character, perhaps the most important as without it, there would be no story. Until then, keep writing!

Day 13 - 18 days until the start of NNWM




This week we’ve been taking a closer look at our story’s main characters: their back story, their mannerisms and disposition, and desires. We’ve also talked about how it is the protagonist’s great need for something or someone and the antagonist’s desire to prevent the protagonist’s from winning the prize that drives the story from start to finish.

Today, Nano Writer, we’re going to give our hero a little help and because we can (we’re The Writer, right?) we’re going to give our hero ( three_wishes… )

Tomorrow is right-brain Friday and we’re going to put our lists aside and do something crafty. Until then, keep writing Nano Writer!