Preparing for NaNoWriMo Success

I'm turning my post this month over to my good friend and fellow author, Ellis Vidler. This is the program she recently gave at the Greenville, SC, Public Library on NaNoWriMo. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's simple: write 50,000 words on a new novel during the month of November. I've never done it, but Ellis has an outline on how to accomplish such a daunting feat. Pay attention. ~ Polly Iyer

PREPARATION: FIRST DRAFT IN THIRTY DAYS

1 GENRE/IDEA

Decide on the type of story—crime/romance/suspense/coming of age/adventure/etc. What do you like to read? Base your story on a subject you like, know, or are interested in (something you are capable of researching). Idea sources are everywhere.

• News articles
• Trade or subject magazines
• Movies/documentaries
• Other, such as events in your life

2 CHARACTERS

Character A and Character B, possibly Character C. Don’t forget the antagonist or the villain. S/h needs a personality, story, and motive too.

The antagonist is the person or even the force that opposes the main character (MC), the protagonist. It doesn’t necessarily mean villain or bad guy. Two good people can have an antagonistic relationship.

• Physical descriptions—hair, eyes, height, weight, race, body type, distinguishing marks, etc.
• Education/job
• Hobbies, special interests, skills, fears
• Background—happy childhood/abusive parent/foster child, siblings, friends, anything that makes them real.
• How do they speak? Educated? Formal? Slang (limited)? Typical expressions.
• What does the MC want? What does the antagonist want? Their goals must conflict.
• The antagonist should be a worthy foe, strong enough to defeat the protagonist so the reader is in doubt about the outcome.

Ask WHY the character is the way h/s is? Why does h/s want ? (MUST want something) Why is this important to the story? This is the motive that drives the character to do the things h/s does, act or react in a certain way, such as make sacrifices or hurt others. Usually these are internal reasons, but they may affected by external factors. Strong motives also set up conflict between the characters, who must have conflicting goals.

To let the reader see the character, show how a character reacts in a situation. Don’t tell the reader what to think.

3 PLOT
Plot is the action that moves the story along. Each event has a purpose. One scene causes/results in the next. A story moves forward by cause and effect. The scene must have consequences. What happens as a result of this scene? As Aristotle said, “It makes a great difference whether something happens because of something else or merely after it.”

Don’t worry about an original idea; everything has already been done. HOW it’s done is what makes it unique. Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, and Cinderella have the same basic plot.

Where is the story going? What is the final goal or outcome of the story? Catch the killer? Win the fair maiden? Destroy the evil empire? Whatever, it’s the point of the story.

What kind of setting works for your plot? Big city, small town, farm, wilderness, sea/seacoast, distant planet, multiple/mobile—whatever works with the plot.

Most novels have three basic parts: opening, middle, and end.

OPENING—Something must be happening to interest reader in reading further. Begin in media res, (Latin: “in the midst of things”) “the practice of beginning an epic or other narrative by plunging into a crucial situation that is part of a related chain of events; the situation is an extension of previous events and will be developed in later action.” Deny the MC something h/s wants. Avoid setup; that can come later. No backstory (drop small bits in later in the story as needed).

The opening, or hook, should have three things: 1) where the story happens (place and time such as Saturn/3030 or Atlanta/present), 2) a significant character, and 3) change in the current situation. Keep the beginning short. Leave past history out of the hook and the opening scene. Limit description.

The opening scene should show change in status quo of MC. Fiancé dumps her, husband dies, thugs take over town. Show the change with a single incident that affects the MC—closeup versus wide angle). Closeup evokes emotion; wide angle merely interest.

The tone of the book should be established in the opening (comedy/tragedy—humorous, romantic, tense, scary—whatever). It lets the reader know what kind of story to expect.

MIDDLE—the graveyard of many books! Make something happen that changes everything. Bring in an old lover, kill someone, dry up the only waterhole, blow something up! Wake the reader up. Ask What if . . .?

Major events—imagine things that could happen to move the story along. Jot down ideas that could disrupt the smooth flow of the storyline; you may not use them all, and they can change or develop, but it’s good to have a few possibilities in mind.

Subplots—These can be added later to help flesh out the story. Subplots must affect the main storyline and character. Ask how it would alter the story if left out. If it wouldn’t change anything, it’s merely filler and should probably be left out.

THE ENDING—Make it big, worth reading all those pages to get to. This is what the reader has been waiting for. The ending should be satisfying. It may not be what readers expect, but it must satisfy them (no cliffhangers for main plot) and make them believe characters get what they deserve. MC must be the one or ones that make it happen. NO Deus ex machina (divine intervention).

There must be logical events that point to the conclusion. Truth may be stranger than fiction and not always logical, but fiction must be believable.

TIPS

Let your subconscious work for you. In the last few minutes before you go to sleep, think about your novel and the situation where you left off. Consider the next scene and what could happen. Your subconscious will likely continue to mull over the story as you sleep. Be prepared to jot down or record any ideas that come to you as soon as you wake up—they tend to fade away as your day takes over. Even if this doesn’t work the first few times, keep trying; it will soon. You’re training your mind.

Never go back during this first rough draft. Don’t edit or revise what you’ve already written. If you think a scene won’t work, mark it (highlight, bold, whatever’s quick) and plan to revisit after you’ve completed the first draft. Don’t delete. You never know what bits may come in handy later.

Don’t set impossible goals. Fifty thousand words is good for a first draft. It will grow as you begin revising and editing the next month. A reasonable goal is about 1700 words a day. If life intervenes—as it will—plan to make up some time on the weekend or a day when there’s less pressure.

Never quit just because you’ve reached your daily goal. If you’ve allowed a specific number of hours a day, write until the time is up, no matter what your word count is. There’ll be days when you just can’t make your goal, so getting ahead will help.

Plan ahead. Plan quick meals, avoid or limit TV and social media, inform family and friends about your writing goal and ask them to refrain from calling or visiting this month, at least between certain hours.
Remember, the only failure is quitting. If you end up with fewer words, say 25,000, don’t beat yourself up. Instead, celebrate! You’ve written a great deal; keep going!

Ellis Vidler writes the stories she likes to read -- action, adventure, and heart. She falls in love with her characters, flawed but striving to do the right thing, and hates leaving them when the book is finished.

Her books include Haunting Refrain, Cold Comfort, Time of Death, and Prime Target. Find her on Amazon.