NaNoWriMo #1: Preparation

So we're just a few days away from November already, and like I've mentioned in some previous posts, that means it's almost time for National Novel Writing Month!  NaNoWriMo is an awesome time to finally start writing that novel you've been building in your head forever.  All you do to be a part of the craze is sign up at their website, make yourself a profile, and off you go.  You can keep track of your word progress, meet people doing the same thing in your area, and get all those helpful tips that just might be what you need to get through the month and still want to write afterward!

So I thought we'd start a new series today all about NaNoWriMo.  Since it's going to be a big part of my November - and thousands of other writers as well - I thought I'd start today with preparation for writing that novel! 

#1 Pick Your Novel Idea

I've completed NaNoWriMo twice before - 2 years in a row, but it was years ago now.  And what helped me actually get through it both times was pretty simple.  I picked an idea I had that was interesting and fun to me.  It sounds silly to point out, but if you aren't excited by the story you're writing, are just dreading it because of all the intense backstory you have to do, have decided to make your story span 10,000 years and it's going to just be dull exposition, etc... maybe it's not the story to write for NaNoWriMo?  Or maybe not at all ever.  Depends on how committed to it you are, I suppose.  

The first year I did it, I had an idea from a short story I'd finished.  I wrote about this last Thursday in my Inspiration Station post, actually.  The Anatomy of a Hero was about two superheroes who fall in love, and it kind of explored their lives when they were not in capes a little bit more than the superhero aspect.  I had the idea from a short story, and when NaNoWriMo came around, I decided it would be a great first book for it.  And it was.  It was just the right story for me to write at the time.  It was a break from my vampires, and it was really fun as I did an alternating perspective (which is not my normal style).  

Synopsis taken directly from my NaNoWriMo page.

I did it again the next year, and the book I chose to write was actually the fifth and final book in the series started by Anatomy.  So, yes, I wrote 3 more books in that series during the course of one year (that was my best year for consistently writing, to be honest).  And when it came time for NaNoWriMo, I knew The Legacy of a Hero would be a great winner for it.  The point is, I had ideas both times that I really liked.  And that's waaaaay more important than most people realize when it comes to NaNoWriMo.  

Synopsis taken directly from my NaNoWriMo page.

This time around, I'm working on my gut job of Fins and Fangs.  I don't have much for it yet, but I'm more excited about this story than I have been for any other story I've tried writing in a long time.  A love story between a mermaid and a vampire is one thing, but I need some more action and plot beyond that, so, it's time to move on to the next step.    

#2 Plan Your Novel

Once you have your idea, the next big step is planning your novel.  There are many different ways to plot and set up your novel for yourself.  I used to make these weird charts that I was taught as a kid to plot essays.  I wasn't a huge fan of them, but I didn't know any other good options at the time.  So, if I was going to use one of these today to plot, it would look like this:

Those weird things don't really work well for me anymore.  What I do like doing instead of that weirdo thing is prepping a couple different lists.  The first thing I do is make a list for each main character that I know is going to be in the story (if more characters come up later on, I update them in my list too).  So, I include the description of what the character looks like - hair color, eye color, and their height - and some main points about each character - vampire or mermaid, how old they are, if they are related to other important characters, etc...  So, Faye's character list for example, would look like this: 

This helps me to have some basic ideas about each character that I know I'm going to be writing.  When I actually start writing, I'll be able to already start slipping in some of that exposition on what they look like and whatnot since I'll already know.  Once I have some character basics, I can move on to figuring out which plot points I want.  Sometimes I already know a ton of stuff that I want to happen.  If I know that, I make a list and maybe a timeline.  If I don't know too much about plot (which is the case this time), then I might write down what I do know and then be a weirdo and talk to myself about it.  Mostly through stream of consciousness writing.  For some reason, that always seems to help me figure things out. 

With that done, you can continue onto the next step.

#3 Write! 

I'll get more into writing tips and things once NaNoWriMo commences, but for now, get to planning!