Ok, so with NaNoWriMo coming up next month, and having
alluded to it previously, I have been inundated with questions and emails about
the daunting task of writing 50,000 words in 30-days. It is a frightening task
for some and a thrilling challenge to others. But everyone wants to know the
same thing. “How do I do it?”
These are techniques that I use to finish NaNoWriMo, this is
what works for me and this is how I finished three novels out of the last four
years and missed one year by only 1000
words. The one thing I have to stress more than anything else is everyone
writes differently, So what I do may not work for you. That being said, here is
how I do it.
I start by outlining my story. How I go about outlining is
pretty simple, I start with an idea of the character, I think about the
situation they are in and the conflict that will propel the story forward, and
finally the outcome that I want, good or bad. So my outline looks like a series
of thought balloons stemming from point “A” with point “B” being a large radial
hub and then point “C” at the other end of the paper.
This method allows me to brainstorm a lot of different ideas
at once. And I usually do about 15 to 20 minutes of just free writing where I just get all
these ideas out. Once I get the ideas out, and I have a general concept of what's going to happen in the story that
I like, I start outlining chapters. I focus on only 20 chapters where the first
five chapters show the character in their normal world and hinting at the
conflict event that propels them forward. I then have about 10 or so chapters
where I explore the character, exposing their weaknesses and strengths as they
are dealing with the conflict point, growing and changing. In the last five
chapters I have the character resolving the conflict and returning to their
world. For me this works with all novels science-fiction, fantasy, thrillers
and even romance.
By using the 20 chapter method I can write a summary of what
I want to happen in each chapter and
align the chapter with the relevant idea balloons. This way allows me to get a
good solid structure and foundation for my story; it also allows me to spot any
major conflicting plot points. By doing this I can get away with 5 to 7 drafts
versus a dozen or more.
I know NaNoWriMo is all about trying to get out a story in
30 days. I have found in talking with other writers that they start to lose
steam about 10 days into the process, they start to lose focus of their story
and the character starts to get away from them. They don't know what to do at
this point. Which is where I always say the ninjas and dancing elephants come
in, these writers usually kill everything and start over in the middle of the
story. Then it becomes a jumbled mess, the
writer loses heart and focus, ultimately they don't finish. Which is a dagger
in their creativity, because they start to doubt their ability to write.
By doing this method I find that I can keep track of my
stories easier, I know generally if I'm going to have a trilogy or series of books
from this, and this allows me to let the story sit after I finished with it,
putting it aside with my outline on top and not touch it. I know that after I
finish NaNoWriMo I'm exhausted from the process and when I walk away from it I
know that I can come back to my story and read my notes and not be completely
lost when I start the arduous process of revisions.
I tell everyone who attempts to do NaNoWriMo and I encourage
everyone to try, this isn't just a writing exercise to see if you can do it,
this is a chance to actually write the novel you've wanted to write. And if
you're going to complete it you have to
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