novel planning -

30Sep 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

How Far in Advance Should You Start Planning a Nanowrimo Novel?

Every author's approach to planning a novel is different. Some like to know their story and characters intimately before they write the first sentence. Others fill binder after binder with worldbuilding details. Still others prefer to skimp on the notes and dive into writing head first with only the vaguest idea where they're going. So when should you start planning your Nanowrimo novel? The short answer is that this varies quite a bit from novel to novel, but you should probably start planning seriously about a month in advance. Here's the long answer: You can only really discover how much planning is appropriate through trial and error, but you can make an educated guess based on your story, setting, and genre--or just listen to Chris Baty, who suggests that you start…

28Oct 2013 by Dianna L. Gunn

Creating an Outline

Inspirational, Nanowrimo, Writing

Even if you only have the most basic story, it's important to create an outline. Being able to see your story visually will give you a better idea of where you need to add details, events and subplots, and if you leave enough space you can write in new things as they happen. Having the outline handy while writing can also remind you what you're writing next after a particularly exhausting scene or prolonged break. As November is almost upon us, it's time to create your outline. For the purpose of this exercise, I'm going to assume that you know something about your story's beginning, middle and end, but not much about what happens between those three points. If you're starting completely from scratch, start here. If you're still here,…

25Oct 2013 by Dianna L. Gunn

The last 10 years

Inspirational, Nanowrimo, Writing

Today's goal is to learn more about your setting with an eye towards things that specifically influence your story. The idea is that elements from the history you create today will be implemented in your novel and might help give it a better shape and you some more knowledge on the locale. So grab a pen and paper and write about what's happened in your chosen setting over the last ten years. Depending on your story, this setting could be as large as a world or as small as a single nobleman's house. What's important is that you find a character who was old enough to be fully aware and have knowledge of the world during the last ten years, and get them to explain the history to you in…

23Oct 2013 by Jen

Thoughts on preparing for Nanowrimo from participant LadyofPangaea

Contributor, Inspirational, Nanowrimo, Writing

Hi there. I'm Jen, a fellow blogger and a friend of Dianna. I'm here because she asked me to do a guest blog on preparing for the awesome madness that is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo or NaNo as I will be referring to it from here on out). So, here it is! NaNo is a cauldron of opposing forces. It is thrilling yet daunting; exciting yet terrifying; liberating yet maddening. It is all of these things and more, and it is for this reason, it is important that you leave the starting gate prepared. It is impossible to be prepared for everything, and I am not here to tell you it is going to be easy; I'm just here to tell you what I have experienced. First off, you…

21Oct 2013 by Dianna L. Gunn

Keeping Factsheets

Nanowrimo, Workshops, Writing, Writing

Last year I wrote about creating a factsheet about your story, but this year I'd like you to take it to the next level. I'd like you to create factsheets—pages of point form notes—documenting everything you know about the following things: Your world— what time period is your world set in? What are the places your characters live in called? Is there magic or high technology? Perhaps there's no technology. How do they document time? What religions are common? Anything you know about your world should be put on one piece of paper you can easily refer to as you write your novel. Every character— every character that has a significant part to play in your story should have a fact sheet with every piece of information you know about…

18Oct 2013 by Dianna L. Gunn

Create a Legend

Nanowrimo, Workshops, Writing, Writing

No matter what kind of novel you're planning to write next month, and even if you haven't gotten that hammered out yet, creating a legend can still be a useful exercise. We've all heard urban legends before so don't let a modern setting sway you from this exercise. I've even had full fledged novels emerge from short two page legends, so take some time this weekend and make sure you create yours. What do I mean when I say a legend/myth? By this I mean a story that everyone in your main setting—whether that be a village, a town, a household or an entire country—knows and knows well, that may or may not be true. Usually these involve great heroes and have some sort of lesson in the way they're…

14Oct 2013 by Dianna L. Gunn

Diving into your character’s mind

Nanowrimo, Workshops, Writing

Hopefully by now you have a fairly solid main character to work with if nothing else. You want to know that character as well as you possibly can before you start writing your actual novel. This is particularly important if all you have is a character, because an entire novel can spring up naturally around a good character you know well. Their family, friends and lovers can become characters and their lives can become plots. You can either discover a period of their life worth writing about, or you can learn how they react to things and throw them an entirely new challenge that will test their strengths. Every writer uses different techniques to get into their character's minds. Some use character interviews, others create detailed character charts. Some even…

09Oct 2013 by Dianna L. Gunn

5 Important considerations when planning your Nanowrimo novel

Goal setting, Nanowrimo, Writing

If you, like me, are currently working with only the most basic novel concept, there are some important things to consider as you flesh out your story. These are important things to consider before diving into your novel, whether it's for Nanowrimo or not. Asking yourself these questions can really save you a world of pain during November and beyond it. 1. How exciting is this story? You need to be excited about your story. A novel is a commitment. You're going to devote at least a significant chunk of next month to writing this thing, and if you plan to someday publish you're going to have to spend months, possibly years editing it. Frankly, you won't get all the way through November with a story that doesn't excite you,…