At the buzzer
Okay, firstly - I'm a NaNoWriMo aberration. I need to get that out of the way up front. In no way did last year's path to a completed novel resemble the one outlined in Chris Baty's (excellent) "No Plot, No Problem". He emphasizes pacing and establishing a routine for the month; I went into the final 40 hours with 19,000 written. Look at that number again. That means that I had to write approximately 775 words an hour for 40 consecutive hours. So my gigantic disclaimer ... and I cannot stress this enough ... I'm a moron and you shouldn't listen to anything I have to say.
Of course, I had a very potent motivational tool - a $10,000 penalty for failing to complete it. I would have been financially ruined if I was short on the word count. I created a FaceBook group entitled "Chris will give you $10 if he doesn't write 50,000 words in May," thinking that maybe a hundred or so of my friends would join. Well, I underestimated people's desire for free potential money (not to be confused with "potentially free money") by an order of magnitude. At its peak, I think the FaceBook group had around 1,019 people. I don't necessarily recommend this course of action, since it could end horrifically. However, if you need an extra source of motivation, then throwing yourself on the hook for a gigantic wad of cash is certainly an effective way of obtaining one.
In terms of actual novel-writing advice, I would offer the following three suggestions:
1.) Write in the genre that you most often read.
Writing in an unfamiliar genre might be more of a "challenge", but you've already got all the challenge you need with that whole 50,000-words-in-a-month thing. So resist the temptation to novelize Firefly if you're not a big sci-fi reader. That being said, using a genre in a fantastic way to build in some word count and add interesting plot elements. For example, I wrote a fantasy novel last year. As part of the backstory, I had to explain the system of magic that I employed. It was a fun little sidenote that used up some word count, and contributed to the creation of my alternate reality.
2.) Make stuff happen, then justify it.
This is a little bit of advice that I am borrowing from my improvisational theater buddies. The best way to advance a plot is to just do it. Jump in with both feet (oh my gosh! Zombies just attacked out of *nowhere*!), and then try to figure out a.) how to make it consistent with the events so far in your novel, and b.) the genuine reactions that your characters would have. It's far more interesting to reveal personality traits about one of your protagonists through actions rather than dialogue. Do they freeze up in terror when zombies attack? Do they retreat to a safe place and stock up on supplies? Do they grab the nearest shovel and hack away? You'll actually be surprised at how confidently you'll be able to definitively say, "Yes. This is how [Character X] would react in this situation." However, in order to get those insights, you've got to create circumstances that provoke interesting reactions.
3.) Focus on the characters you like.
Invariably, you're going to find that a character you've created just isn't that interesting. That's okay - you're not obligated to carry them through the end of the novel, even if they were the intended protagonist. Switch over to the perspective of a more interesting minor character and see how they fare in the spotlight for a while. Sometimes the minor characters can develop into ones with a lot of depth, especially the ones that start as caricatures that do something to break the mold of that caricature. By defying conventional expectations, the character will instantly becomes a little bit more intriguing for the reader (and, more importantly for NaNoWriMo, the writer).
4.) Don't leave the last 31,000 words to the last weekend. Again, I must stress - I am a moron and you shouldn't listen to anything I have to say.
Of course, I had a very potent motivational tool - a $10,000 penalty for failing to complete it. I would have been financially ruined if I was short on the word count. I created a FaceBook group entitled "Chris will give you $10 if he doesn't write 50,000 words in May," thinking that maybe a hundred or so of my friends would join. Well, I underestimated people's desire for free potential money (not to be confused with "potentially free money") by an order of magnitude. At its peak, I think the FaceBook group had around 1,019 people. I don't necessarily recommend this course of action, since it could end horrifically. However, if you need an extra source of motivation, then throwing yourself on the hook for a gigantic wad of cash is certainly an effective way of obtaining one.
In terms of actual novel-writing advice, I would offer the following three suggestions:
1.) Write in the genre that you most often read.
Writing in an unfamiliar genre might be more of a "challenge", but you've already got all the challenge you need with that whole 50,000-words-in-a-month thing. So resist the temptation to novelize Firefly if you're not a big sci-fi reader. That being said, using a genre in a fantastic way to build in some word count and add interesting plot elements. For example, I wrote a fantasy novel last year. As part of the backstory, I had to explain the system of magic that I employed. It was a fun little sidenote that used up some word count, and contributed to the creation of my alternate reality.
2.) Make stuff happen, then justify it.
This is a little bit of advice that I am borrowing from my improvisational theater buddies. The best way to advance a plot is to just do it. Jump in with both feet (oh my gosh! Zombies just attacked out of *nowhere*!), and then try to figure out a.) how to make it consistent with the events so far in your novel, and b.) the genuine reactions that your characters would have. It's far more interesting to reveal personality traits about one of your protagonists through actions rather than dialogue. Do they freeze up in terror when zombies attack? Do they retreat to a safe place and stock up on supplies? Do they grab the nearest shovel and hack away? You'll actually be surprised at how confidently you'll be able to definitively say, "Yes. This is how [Character X] would react in this situation." However, in order to get those insights, you've got to create circumstances that provoke interesting reactions.
3.) Focus on the characters you like.
Invariably, you're going to find that a character you've created just isn't that interesting. That's okay - you're not obligated to carry them through the end of the novel, even if they were the intended protagonist. Switch over to the perspective of a more interesting minor character and see how they fare in the spotlight for a while. Sometimes the minor characters can develop into ones with a lot of depth, especially the ones that start as caricatures that do something to break the mold of that caricature. By defying conventional expectations, the character will instantly becomes a little bit more intriguing for the reader (and, more importantly for NaNoWriMo, the writer).
4.) Don't leave the last 31,000 words to the last weekend. Again, I must stress - I am a moron and you shouldn't listen to anything I have to say.
posted by --Chris at 6:32 AM
3 Comments:
Regarding 3):
*facepalm* Of course! That's totally what I should have done last year.
That and not had a job where I wrote things all day. NaNoWriMo+writing job = great for typing speed, bad for repetitive stress injuries and the novel.
So, with regards to your fourth point:
1. Because you left everything to the last minute, we should ignore all of your advice.
2. You advise us not to leave everything to the last minute.
3. Therefore we should not be afraid to leave everything to the last minute, even though this is such a bad idea that it discredits you utterly.
My head hurts.
You *should* be afraid to leave everything to the last minute, but not because I've advised you as such. You should be afraid to leave everything to the last minute because it will invariably have a negative effect on your sanity.
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