National Novel Writing Month

It's that time of year again! Time to write that 50, 000 word novel that's always been in your head. Welcome to National Novel Writing Month!

Many of you are probably already familiar with NaNoWriMo. For you newbies, you basically sit down and write down a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. You don't edit. You don't plan. You just do it.

I've participated in this event several times and always benefited from it. I'm at a point where 50,000 words doesn't even seem like such a huge milestone anymore. Heck, I think I write that every month anyway in one way or another.

What I like about Nano is that you hit the ground running. You don't need to worry about spelling or grammar, or  for that matter, plot. Writing whatever comes into your head about a story is very freeing and a good way to challenge yourself if you are a micro-manager.

At the end of it all, you have a little manuscript that may or may not be a diamond. Sometimes it's just a lump of coal that really stinks. But hey, it's a start!

Even though this post is going up on Nov. 2, it's not too late to start! Go to the link below and check out all that National Novel Writing Month has to offer!

National Novel Writing Month

Backup that Novel

I hear about it every year during the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo); someone slaves away on their novel for hours a day, days a week, and weeks a month. They are right there near the finish line, the anticipation of crossing over almost too much to bear. Their fingers are a blur, their mind is awhirl, and all they can think about is completing one of the most audacious challenges known to man (who in their right mind would agree to write a novel in a month?).

And then it happens, right there in mid-stroke of the keyboard, the computer decides that for whatever reason, it can’t go on. Maybe it was because the computer couldn’t keep up with the speed at which their fingers flew across the keyboard. Maybe it was because they were always out on NaNoWriMo.org updating their word count. Or maybe they should have updated their computer years ago but didn’t want to give up the last working copy of Windows 95.

Whatever the reason, whatever the excuse, they didn’t back it up their NaNo-novel and now their life is filled with anguish and remorse. But this sad story doesn’t have to happen to you. It’s not too late!

Backup that novel! Do it now. Don’t wait. And do it often, maybe, dare I even say it, daily. Backups are like insurance. You never need it until you need it. But when you need it, you really need it. Don’t be that one NaNo-Novelist who is on the outside looking in on November 30th.

New Service to Help You Through Nanowrimo: WritebyNight

In my many web wanderings this week I came across a new service for writers that comes just in time for Nanowrimo! The service is called Write by Night and I spoke to the Owner, Justine Goldberg,  by email. Justine was extremely helpful and truly has writers' interests at heart.

Write by Night offers workshops, one-on-one instruction and consultations, and more. They have locations in Texas, Florida, and of course online. You can get the complete lowdown on their website.

For those of you in Austin, Write by Night also has free meet up times available at their headquarters where writers can go and write for hours! This is perfect for Nanowrimo write-ins. Here is the blurb from their website.

Make WriteByNight's headquarters your own personal creative space during set times throughout the week. Come to write, read, collaborate or just kick back and dream. We've got a library, writing prompts, coffee and free Wi-Fi. What more could a writer ask for?
The best part: Write Here is free and open to the public, so bring your friends.

Wednesdays, 5 - 7 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
1305 E. 6th Street, Suite 4

They also have a blog with resources for those of you (like me) who can't seem to get enough info on writing and publishing. So, check them out and make use of their writing space and best of luck during Nanowrimo!

I hope this helps some of you. Happy Writing!

How to Get the Most Out of Nanowrimo (and Not Go Insane!)

Nanowrimo starts November 1^st--at midnight for those of you industrious enough and with enough caffeine to stay up that late—and so begins thirty days of intense typing as thousands of writers strive to meet the goal of 50,000 words. Yikes!

At the onset it seems easy enough. You’re fueled by a new idea, inspiration courses through your veins, and the whole book unfolds in your mind with crystal clear precision.

Week Two: You’re brain-dead. The characters are flat. The plot is all wrong. You’ve hit a brick wall and don’t know what to do!

You want to know a little trick to avoid the second week of nanowrimo freak out? Plan ahead!

Nanowrimo is too intense and too fruitful of an opportunity to dive in willy nilly. You need to arrive at Nano with your plot outlined, your characters’ biographies sketched, and with as much pertinent research done as you possibly can. This way you really can spend all of that time writing and not thinking, researching, or screaming into oblivion.

To truly make the most of Nanowrimo, use the rest of October to do the following:

1.     Forewarn all family and friends that you will be mimicking a hermit/crazy person for the next 30 days. If this is your normal state of being, you can skip this step.

2.     Outline key plot points. These will be your guideposts and generally consist of items such as introduction to conflict, plot twist, false climax, climax, etc. This way you have freedom to “live in the moment” and take a scene where it leads you and still stay on course.

3.     Create a character sheet for each character. On this sheet you will include physical descriptions, important background information, motivations/goals, relation to plot and main character, and other relevant information. These are especially helpful once you get really deep into your story (you know, so you can avoid the changing eye/hair color syndrome).

4.     Research places, weapons, history, topics, customs or anything else relevant to your book. The internet and libraries are great for researching, but black holes in terms of time. Focus November on just writing. You can always go back later and do more research and add details while you’re editing.

5.     Form a support group of other completely, utterly insane and dedicated writers willing to suspend their lives for a collective sense of productivity. Hold each other accountable, cheer each other on, help each other locate viable meeting places that serve loads of coffee and have plenty of electrical outlets, and revel in the camaraderie!

Also, during Nanowrimo do not edit! This is writing time. Edit in December when the weather keeps you stuck inside anyway. Better yet, wait until January so that the gelatinous goo your brain has become has time to solidify and resume normal function.

Happy Writing!

Emerging From the Fog

Okay, so we are all finally emerging from the Nanowrimo fog. For those of you who participated, I hope you met your word count. If you're like me, you met your word count, but have a long road of editing and reworking ahead of you. With that in mind, I wanted to share a fabulous new book I discovered on my last book buying run.

Thanks, But This Isn't For Us by Jessica Morrell is a guide to why your work is being rejected (a.k.a what's missing or what isn't working). I have read tons of books, articles, and agent blogs about editing, but this one by far is the easiest to read and incorporate into your writing practice. Where most books either focus on one aspect of development or technical items, this one covers the whole package. Plus, the Quick and Dirty tips at the end of each chapter let you walk straight over to the computer, notebook, or stone tablet and immediately make improvements to your writing. I've been able to make drastic improvements to several works and know that this will be a key tool in my writer's arsenal.

Good luck to y-all with your editing and Nano masterpieces. There are several manuscript contests coming up in 2010. Who knows?

How's NaNo Going?

For anyone doing NaNoWriMo, how's it going? I kept up beautifully for three whole days. But now I'm behind by about 700 words. That means I have to write 2367 to get even today. Probably not gonna happen!

But, if you're having trouble meeting your goal, here are some tips, thanks to our CenTex group's brainstorming session Monday (when we were supposed to be writing).

Have a character who repeats everything said to him or her.

Use him or her instead of him. Or her. Use that a lot.

Do not use incomplete sentences. Insert the whole subject, verb thing, always, at all times.

Never use contractions, spell everything out.

Use several small words wherever you can instead of one big one.

Describe everything fully. I know, this is bad writing, but you can take it out later. After you've fulfilled your goal. Oops. I mean: You can do this after you have fulfilled your writing goal and after you have met your word count. (See how much better that is?)

Any other ideas on padding--I mean reaching the word count?

You Can Write A Novel -Review

With Nanowrimo fast approaching we've all been focusing on sketching out the core elements of our proposed novels, developing our plot, and generally just trying to figure out what to write. Everyone has their own system, from free-balling to notes on index cards. For those of you without a system, you may want to check out the You Can Write A Novel Kit from James V. Smith. This handy little box comes with a book detailing how to develop a book from conceptualization to ending and handy little sheets to help you develop major and minor characters, outline chapters, and develop scenes. The tear-sheets kind of remind me of Yatzee score cards but instead of keeping track of dice, you can hash out things like character background, relevance of a scene to the overall plot, and review chapters to make sure key revelations have been met.

The book itself is quite handy. The elements are logically delineated and information is presented so that it is both visually appealing and easy to understand and incorporate. I especially like the little chart that shows the Master Story Model. This model is good for those of you wanting to insure the right amount of action/peaks at the right places. The also make great guideposts that give your story some direction with room to evolve as characters start to muck around on their own (which mine always do).

The book closes with invaluable tips on revising to help you tighten up your novel and avoid dreadful mistakes. Each tip is itemized with easy to follow exercises so you can quickly read through and start utilizing them right away.

All-in-all, the kit is a great planning and revising tool for those looking to get a better handle on the cumbersome aspects of writing a novel. Once you get a feel for it, you can muddle with the forms and outlines to suit your personal tastes. It's not a sure fire way to develop a winning novel, but its the most compact, inclusive, and easy to use resource I have found as a new novelist. I hope it helps you out, too. Good luck with Nanowrimo!

Almost time for NaNo!

I'm putting together a framework for what I want to write, not that I'll stick to it, but I find I can't begin without an idea, a glimmer, of what's going on. I know one mystery writer (and I'm sure there are others), Valerie Wolzien, who writes the whole thing, knowing her killer will reveal him/herself by the end. He/she always does, and Valerie then goes back through the manuscript making sure clues are planted. More often than not, they're already, mysteriously, there, she says. (I think that's what she says. I'm paraphrasing what I heard in a panel at Malice Domestic a few years ago. Anyway, it's close.)

Not me, though. I have to know who my killer is. Although I had a second one crop up once. A nice complication!

No matter what you're writing, if not mysteries, you're still either a person who plots beforehand, or a seat-of-the-pants writer. None of us can figure out how the other half does it! I have written into the mist and come out okay, but it's too scary for me!

And, no matter if you're a plotter or a pantser, your story still has to have the structure a reader expects. Many resources can define it for you: SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder, a book about screen writing that has much in it for the novelist; THE WRITER'S JOURNEY by Christopher Vogler, a book that delves into classical forms, adapted for writers from THE HERO'S JOURNEY by Joseph Campbell; HOW TO PLOT YOUR NOVEL by Allison & Busby Writer's Guides (which I've had recommended to me but don't have--Christmas hint here!); and, lastly, a terrific book I'm about half way through, WRITING TO SELL by Scott Meredith.

Alexandra Sokoloff has been blogging on plot, especially geared for NaNoWriMo, too! Check out her excellent posts at http://thedarksalon.blogspot.com/. She uses the Three Act structure used by many.

Or you can use the tried and true plotting method. Put your heroine up a tree; throw things at her; get her out of the tree. You are, of course, free to use a hero instead. Happy writing, all who are doing NaNo!

Write a Novel in 30 Days!

No Plot? No Problem! is the companion that every author should have who participates in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), an event that happens each November. If you’re going to try to write a novel in a month, you will need a guide, and this book is that guide.

The subtitle self-describes the book as “A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days,” and it is! The book is broken down into two sections. The first section describes what to expect and I recommend that you read it prior to November 1st. The second section explains what is happening to you and your writing, week-by-week. There is a chapter for each of the four weeks and I recommend you read these as close as you can to the week it’s describing. It gives you some great advice on how to overcome the fear and doubt that are certain to crop up. There’s also a final chapter once you’ve completed the month with suggestions about how to go on with your life.

Make no mistake, writing a novel in a month is a daunting task, but Baty takes you through it step-by-step. It’s an awesome experience and one I plan on repeating this November. And before I do, I’ll be reading No Plot? No Problem! once again. I recommend the experience and I highly recommend the book.