SATURDAY POST!!!

Five Days!

That’s it!

You have five days left!

(I’ve just used my allotment of exclamation points for all the novels I write next year.)

How’s the writing?

Are you going it? Succeeding with NaNo?

The truth is, I’ve done my best.

But I still have several writing days left.

So I’m going for it. ;0)

Here’s what dear Bruce Luck said about making it this last week or so:

Mired in the middle of my story, Carol’s wonderful Throwing Up Words post last week was timely.

Of special significance was her suggestion to list the scenes that still must come. Did that and a zillion ideas floating in the brain gained clarity. Boosted the word count, too, and Carol says that’s legit.

But how to order those scenes? So I took it a step further and created a document titled Writing Backwards. It starts with “the end” and lists events in reverse order. It looks something like this:

TE-1 (the end, minus one) final scene in which the MC reconciles with grandma

TE-2 MC visits grandma in hospital

TE-3 MC locates Angela

TE-4 etcetera, etcetera

That walked me back to where I am now. Well, almost. Middles are notoriously mirky. And mucky. It’s going to take a slog to get to the path toward the end, but at least I know which direction to head.

Thanks, Bruce. A perfect post to help us these last days. As is this one:

Says Gatanathoa (Your slightly rum soaked and piratical ML) who reps Utah County for NaNoWriMo:

You don’t need to have hours alone, you only need 10 minutes. If you can take 5 or 6 ten minute breaks through out each day you can easily get the daily word count. Everyone can manage that.

Good luck, Everyone!

Tomorrow . . .

we begin.

How many of you will participate in NaNoWriMo?

Once again, I shall try. And we’ll see if I make it past week one. Or day two. Ha!

I have lots of questions for you to consider for tomorrow and I have this awesome quote from a NaNo leader here in UT.

Gatanathoa says, “Every word you write counts unless you delete it. Make the planning part of your writing. Have two docs, one for your musings and one for the outline. Every thought you have put in the musings doc and everything that makes it into the story put in the outline. In no time you will have your novel all planned out and you will be able to start the full story.”

I’d never considered this. But I will use it in my writing over the next month.

Now, a few questions to consider as you brainstorm.

Can a free write help you get started?

How can that free write play toward your novel, so that it not only counts as numbers totaled, but is a useable scene?

Who is your main character?

Who is her enemy?

Write a scene between the two.

Do you know the climax of your novel yet? Do you have an idea? If so, can the scene play toward that?

What does your character really want?

Name ten ways you’ll stop her from getting that ‘thing’ she wants.

Can any be expanded into a scene?

What is your first great line?

Who is the love interest?

Write a scene with him/her.

That should get you started.

Good luck!

Oh, and here’s this: WIFYR will be hosting a reward party! Our group goal is 400,000 words OR, if you’re in the middle of a masterpiece, a second group is editing 2000 pages (8 pages a day per person). All who meet their goals are invited to come to the reward party. Whether your goal is 20,000 words or the full 50,000, or you’re editing 8 pages a day or 15, this month is a good time to reach your goals. Click here to join the group or email us at wifyrdoesnano@gmail.com.