NaNoWriMo – T minus 30 days
Now is the time to panic, if you haven't already started. We're writing a NOVEL in a month's time, we must be mad. October is the month of the Great Site Relaunch, all the posts in the NaNoWriMo forums get wiped for the new year, and people start acquiring their donor halos. Halo up early to avoid the rush, maybe grab some NaNoWriMo swag too.
I've been looking at the Snowflake Method for novel plotting and noodling around on my idea. Step 10 in the Method is "write the novel", which will happen in November. Normally I print out a copy of the Hero's Journey and aim to fit within that framework.
My handwritten plot notes live in a soft-cover Moleskine notebook that is utterly useless for writing with fountain pens, which is annoying because they make my handwriting so much nicer. 3x5 index cards help me sort out plot threads in the early stages, then everything gets put into Scrivener. I wrote my last novel in Scrivener and it's an excellent tool for gathering notes together and structuring your writing. It's also very flexible, there's a Mac and a Windows version, and NaNoWriMo winners several years running have got a coupon code for 50% off the price, which isn't a lot to start with at $45.
Some useful articles I've been reading from Chuck Wendig:
- 25 Things You Should Do Before Starting Your Next Novel
- 25 Of My Personal Rules For Writing And Telling Stories
- Ask A Writer: Building A Better Character
- 25 Things You Should Know About Metaphor
- 25 Ways to Plot, Plan and Prep Your Story
- 25 Ways To Get Your Creative Groove Back As A Writer
There's also a chance that Hubby and I might be in San Francisco for the fabled Night of Writing Dangerously. We've never been before and I would gladly stay up well past bedtime to be there.