I was just panicking about this last night. Less than half of my book is planned, one of my main characters still isn't named, and I have yet to even think of an ending, much less plot it. Also, places and characters involved in the scenes I have planned keep changing.
There's no way I'm gonna get all the prep I wanted to do done in the time I have left, so I'm just listing scenes or events and throwing them down on a timeline in some kind of order in the hopes that I won't stall out...
I'm going to read through and try to remember a plot I developed last spring. Well, sort of developed. Tonight is it for my prep time, so making the most of it!
I have seven characters with names. Five of those have actual backstories and personalities. I should probably come up with something for those last two guys, but I might worry about that later, like during November.
I have 22 scenes planned out. Some of those scenes might technically be two. I have pretty detailed notes for maybe 15 of those 22. I'm in the process of adding more scenes because the flow of my story is rushed anyways. Also, I need to add clearer notes on some of the scenes I have to make sure I know what I want to do with them. Oh, and double check everything's in the order I want. I also have half a page of ideas that I want or need to fit in there somewhere, most of which are mentioning something earlier in the story that my MC will use at the end.
My "settings" section is kind of blank right now so I guess I'm creating that during November, too. I don't usually worry much about setting details until I'm writing. I'm also really bad at mentioning setting details in my first draft. I should really work on that.
Last minute prep: My third act is the weakest and that worries me a little, but I have faith that my characters will figure things out before I do! At least I know my ending and I hope they agree with it. I'm still going through all the little reminder notes on sudden great plot ideas, you know the ones you get up in the middle of the night to write on whatever paper you can find and then see if it can be worked into your story. I have a feeling that may continue throughout November as my characters really come alive.
I did get the book Canyons. The two person narrative between the Native American boy and the present day boy alternates chapter by chapter. I'll be doing that, too. The boy's relationship with his mother is actually similar to my story, typical teenage rebellion. The story written in the 1990s has an innocence that my book will not have. No time travel, but lots of spiritualism. Halfway thru it. Sent this to you in nanomail.
My planning notebook is far too empty for my liking, but since I'm retelling a fairy tale I'm hoping I won't need as much planning as usual. Still, I'm not sure about my exact scenes or the order they'll go in. I might work on that a bit now. I just finished putting my labels in to mark the parts I know I'll need to reference, and I printed my list of possible names for the random characters who will crop up along the way. Random geography isn't as clear as I want it to be yet, not that it's relevant to the plot, but I like to know what places are called.
And of course, I still need to start numbering the pages of my notebook. Yes, I'm doing it by hand again. No, I will never learn.
I kind of stalled out on planning a couple days ago. I've got a lot planned out already, but I still don't really know how things are going to go in the second half of my book, though I do have ideas. I think I have to start writing a bit in order to be able to plan more. I'm trying not to freak out about my lack of preparedness!Today I made a list of characters and their goals to keep out as a reminder while I'm writing. I also made a list of all the reasons I want to write this story so I can keep that in mind if I start getting overwhelmed!
ziplizard wrote:I have seven characters with names. Five of those have actual backstories and personalities. I should probably come up with something for those last two guys, but I might worry about that later, like during November.
www.charahub.comis a site i use for character planning and it is GORGEOUS!
Don't blink. Blink and your dead.They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, Don't look away, and don't blink!
i feel pretty confident...the composition notebook i bought is 75% filled. I am just ...nervous about how to start the opening scene. Like, how am I going to word it? What if I word it and hate it and I keep deleting it over and over because I just can't find the right words?
I have a few hours before midnight...i may just plan out that first paragraph as kindling for the fire to bloom at the stroke of 12.
I should probably clean my desk up too so i have room to write. And then get my snacks and water (and halloween candy! BECAUSE I ADULT MY NIGHT AND RING DOORBELLS!...)...and vow to spend at least an hour writing while drinking soda and eating candy.
and i TOTES did...i dressed up (As belle no less! so fun!) and took my dog (who proudly wore his superman costume that i spent 2 days on)...and went to houses...until his suit was too wet and he was a chili dog...(pun also intended)...and then i went out. i have a bucket full of candy...WHO EVER SAYS YOU ARE TOO OLD TO TRICK-OR-TREAT...is a grumpy old miser who doesn't like free candy :p
so, maybe i should eat candy and get hyped up on it so i can plan a few more chapters (i am already to chapter 8) ...or further refine chapter 1 so i can start writing it at midnight with out anxiety
Don't blink. Blink and your dead.They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, Don't look away, and don't blink!
My phone forced me to factory reset it yesterday so I spent most of last evening getting it set up as close as it was set up before. Then this afternoon I fell asleep during my prime prepping time. So I'm going to have a busy night tonight finishing up my prep as best I can. Oh well. Better this stuff happening in October than November.
Goddess_Astra wrote:i feel pretty confident...the composition notebook i bought is 75% filled. I am just ...nervous about how to start the opening scene. Like, how am I going to word it? What if I word it and hate it and I keep deleting it over and over because I just can't find the right words?
Do not delete. Not until December. If you feel the need to re-word it and re-write it, go right ahead... without deleting any of the previous versions. Every word counts! You can change the color of the other text so you know what's good and what isn't, or even make it white so that you can't see it at all. Besides, you never know which random phrase that you don't like now could be wonderful inspiration later.
I just finished transferring my outline to index cards. I had most of them, but the middle was still a little vague. I wound up with 29 cards. Not bad for a 30 day month. I also did a lot of driving today, so I looked up some "questions to ask your character" and used those to get a better grasp on my MC's voice. I think it helped a lot. Can't believe it's almost here.
Two days are left before NaNo begins. How are you spending them?
For me,I still have a lot of plotting to do and also have to write down the characters that I've been developing in my head...
I was just panicking about this last night. Less than half of my book is planned, one of my main characters still isn't named, and I have yet to even think of an ending, much less plot it. Also, places and characters involved in the scenes I have planned keep changing.
There's no way I'm gonna get all the prep I wanted to do done in the time I have left, so I'm just listing scenes or events and throwing them down on a timeline in some kind of order in the hopes that I won't stall out...
I'm going to read through and try to remember a plot I developed last spring. Well, sort of developed. Tonight is it for my prep time, so making the most of it!
I have seven characters with names. Five of those have actual backstories and personalities. I should probably come up with something for those last two guys, but I might worry about that later, like during November.
I have 22 scenes planned out. Some of those scenes might technically be two. I have pretty detailed notes for maybe 15 of those 22. I'm in the process of adding more scenes because the flow of my story is rushed anyways. Also, I need to add clearer notes on some of the scenes I have to make sure I know what I want to do with them. Oh, and double check everything's in the order I want. I also have half a page of ideas that I want or need to fit in there somewhere, most of which are mentioning something earlier in the story that my MC will use at the end.
My "settings" section is kind of blank right now so I guess I'm creating that during November, too. I don't usually worry much about setting details until I'm writing. I'm also really bad at mentioning setting details in my first draft. I should really work on that.
So, I'm pretty nerved up about hitting 50K but this word to page translator made me feel a bit better.
You might want to try it
http://wordstopages.com/
Thanks, Barb. I bookmarked it!
Last minute prep: My third act is the weakest and that worries me a little, but I have faith that my characters will figure things out before I do! At least I know my ending and I hope they agree with it. I'm still going through all the little reminder notes on sudden great plot ideas, you know the ones you get up in the middle of the night to write on whatever paper you can find and then see if it can be worked into your story. I have a feeling that may continue throughout November as my characters really come alive.
Did you ever get the book CANYONS and was it helpful?
(I too get up in the middle of the night and write notes. Our poor brains never sleep!)
I did get the book Canyons. The two person narrative between the Native American boy and the present day boy alternates chapter by chapter. I'll be doing that, too. The boy's relationship with his mother is actually similar to my story, typical teenage rebellion. The story written in the 1990s has an innocence that my book will not have. No time travel, but lots of spiritualism. Halfway thru it. Sent this to you in nanomail.
Making some progress! yellow = info card; green = characters; orange circle = scene with approximate position in the story
My planning notebook is far too empty for my liking, but since I'm retelling a fairy tale I'm hoping I won't need as much planning as usual. Still, I'm not sure about my exact scenes or the order they'll go in. I might work on that a bit now. I just finished putting my labels in to mark the parts I know I'll need to reference, and I printed my list of possible names for the random characters who will crop up along the way. Random geography isn't as clear as I want it to be yet, not that it's relevant to the plot, but I like to know what places are called.
And of course, I still need to start numbering the pages of my notebook. Yes, I'm doing it by hand again. No, I will never learn.
I kind of stalled out on planning a couple days ago. I've got a lot planned out already, but I still don't really know how things are going to go in the second half of my book, though I do have ideas. I think I have to start writing a bit in order to be able to plan more. I'm trying not to freak out about my lack of preparedness!Today I made a list of characters and their goals to keep out as a reminder while I'm writing. I also made a list of all the reasons I want to write this story so I can keep that in mind if I start getting overwhelmed!
www.charahub.comis a site i use for character planning and it is GORGEOUS!
Don't blink. Blink and your dead.They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, Don't look away, and don't blink!
~Good luck
i feel pretty confident...the composition notebook i bought is 75% filled. I am just ...nervous about how to start the opening scene. Like, how am I going to word it? What if I word it and hate it and I keep deleting it over and over because I just can't find the right words?
I have a few hours before midnight...i may just plan out that first paragraph as kindling for the fire to bloom at the stroke of 12.
I should probably clean my desk up too so i have room to write. And then get my snacks and water (and halloween candy! BECAUSE I ADULT MY NIGHT AND RING DOORBELLS!...)...and vow to spend at least an hour writing while drinking soda and eating candy.
and i TOTES did...i dressed up (As belle no less! so fun!) and took my dog (who proudly wore his superman costume that i spent 2 days on)...and went to houses...until his suit was too wet and he was a chili dog...(pun also intended)...and then i went out. i have a bucket full of candy...WHO EVER SAYS YOU ARE TOO OLD TO TRICK-OR-TREAT...is a grumpy old miser who doesn't like free candy :p
so, maybe i should eat candy and get hyped up on it so i can plan a few more chapters (i am already to chapter 8) ...or further refine chapter 1 so i can start writing it at midnight with out anxiety
Don't blink. Blink and your dead.They are fast. Faster than you can believe. Don't turn your back, Don't look away, and don't blink!
~Good luck
My phone forced me to factory reset it yesterday so I spent most of last evening getting it set up as close as it was set up before. Then this afternoon I fell asleep during my prime prepping time. So I'm going to have a busy night tonight finishing up my prep as best I can. Oh well. Better this stuff happening in October than November.
I have a typed numbered outline and some handwritten character profiles. I'm sure that's not enough.
Do not delete. Not until December. If you feel the need to re-word it and re-write it, go right ahead... without deleting any of the previous versions. Every word counts! You can change the color of the other text so you know what's good and what isn't, or even make it white so that you can't see it at all. Besides, you never know which random phrase that you don't like now could be wonderful inspiration later.
I just finished transferring my outline to index cards. I had most of them, but the middle was still a little vague. I wound up with 29 cards. Not bad for a 30 day month. I also did a lot of driving today, so I looked up some "questions to ask your character" and used those to get a better grasp on my MC's voice. I think it helped a lot. Can't believe it's almost here.