Something New

Hello!

After a devastating personal loss in September, it’s been difficult to write or to do anything productive. But this month I decided to try something I’ve always wanted to do: NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month.

For those who don’t know, NaNoWriMo is an international writing event where participants attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. On their website you can join writing groups, get access to resources and tick off goals as you write.

Since it’s my first year participating, I’ve spent the past few weeks prepping a novel I’ve been wanting to complete for some time.

First, to some background.

I am terrible with deadlines. To quote one of my favourite authors, Douglas Adams: “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.” I’ve never been able to keep to a deadline, even when I was studying towards being a journalist, but I’m hoping with some preparation and determination I will end this crappy year I’ve had on a high.

Second, prep.

Drafting story outlines and creating characters is different for every writing. For me, I use the following:

Plot Point Outline

• INCITING EVENT:

• FIRST PLOT POINT:

• FIRST PINCH POINT:

• MIDPOINT:

• SECOND PINCH POINT:

• THIRD PLOT POINT:

• CLIMAX:

• RESOLUTION:

I find this works best for me in breaking down the important parts I want in the story and once I have those down, I can begin to flesh them out as the story evolves. I’ve come to learn over the past couple of years having the ending worked out gives me a moment to work towards. Even if it’s only a vague idea, just knowing helps so much.

For characters I use this outline:

NAME:

DOB:

FAMILY:

• GRANDPARENTS:

• PARENTS:

• SIBLINGS:

PERSONALITY:

• MYERS-BRIGGS:

• ARCHETYPE:

• QUIRKS:

• A LIE:

• A FEAR:

APPEARANCE:

• HEIGHT:

• HAIR:

• EYES:

• BUILD:

I’ve been using this particular outline for so long I can’t remember where I first found it [probably pinterest]. It’s easy to use and you can fill out as little or as much as you need. I always find like with plotting just having one or two details to start off with is better than nothing, because you can always expand later as stories evolve.

So, this is my big plan for November. Wish me luck! You can follow my progress here:

https://nanowrimo.org/participants/l-e

And you can learn more about NaNoWriMo here:

https://nanowrimo.org/