The Grand Plan

During these uncertain times, a lot of us have put plans on hold. However, for many, there has never been a better time to start writing that book. NaNoWriMo which starts on the 1 November is fast approaching and has previously provided the jump start for many to do just that.

NaNoWriMo is a writing challenge month where writers from all over the world join together online and commit to writing at least 50,000 words of a first draft in a month. Writers sign up for the challenge and update others on their progress as the month goes on. By taking part, you get access to mutual support from others partaking and online posts and resources to help you along the way. If you're interested in signing up this year have a look at https://nanowrimo.org

I wrote a brief blog post last November about NaNoWriMo to try and inspire others to have a go. In that post, I briefly covered ideas to get people writing, but I know from experience it's not always that easy. To come up with an idea for characters and weave their story into a plot that makes sense whilst writing the first draft can be daunting. However, if you plan ahead, it makes the process a lot easier and increases the chances of achieving your goal. So, get ahead now and start planning that book you've always wanted to write!

If you haven't already got an idea, don't fret. You don't need to have the whole concept of your book floating around in your head before you start. Some writers start with a rough beginning to end storyline, but sometimes the best ideas for a story can develop from one scene or the invention of a character. Stephenie Meyer was inspired to write 'Twilight' when she dreamt of a meadow scene where Bella and the vampire, Edward, look longingly at each other, lying on the grassy ground of a flower meadow in bloom. From that, she developed a story on how a young girl would fall in love with a vampire and in doing so reinvented the concept of vampires.

If you have an idea of a character, scene, or concept for a book, why not try and expand on the idea you have by using a mindmap. Write down your central idea in the middle of a page and think of the different scenarios arising from that. For instance, if you have a character that has a dream of being a movie star, how could you get them from 'A' to 'B'? Will they succeed and be famous? Or will they get what they want to realise that being famous is not for them? In scenarios such as this, try and avoid cliches such as your character working as a waitress. Think outside of the box as much as possible to add a novel twist to storylines and characters to make it your own. Maybe you have an idea for an improved ending to a film you recently watched? There's nothing wrong with adding revamped ideas and twists to a storyline you know has been done time and time again.

Once you've come up with a rough storyline and characters you can then start making notes on your plotline and even what to include in different chapters. By making rough notes on how your story pans out in each chapter you can then read through your chapters' notes to see if it flows and makes sense, as well as avoiding plot holes. When it comes to writing, you then have a clear plan about the direction your characters and storyline are going in. This, in turn, generally makes it easier to write. If you come up with an exciting twist of events whilst your writing, you can of course deviate from your rough plan, it's your story after all.

Another major obstacle can be developing characters and keeping tabs on them. Yes, you need to keep tabs on your characters! Not in the same sense as you would with your kids, but it's not surprising how many writers forget that a character had blue eyes in chapter 2, and by chapter 7 they're green. To avoid these simple mistakes make use of a character sheet to jot down their physical description and include things like their dislikes and habits. It's a great way to delve deeper into your characters and can also lead to storyline ideas.

It's a great idea to do the same for places that you're going to feature, especially if you describe them in detail. If your story is set in another world it can also be beneficial to draw out a map beforehand. Invaluable, if characters are on a journey of some kind with the possibility of returning to some of the locations you've created.

By drafting all these details, it will help you flesh out your story idea and avoid the issue of so-called 'writer's block', so you can focus on the writing itself. The only thing left to do then is to ensure you sit down every day and write. If you've been putting off writing that novel up until now, this will be the most important thing to plan. If you're going to write approx 50,000 words in a month you're going to have to make the time. Working out when you're at your best is useful. If you're an early morning person, why not commit to waking up an hour earlier when the household is peaceful.

There is nothing like the feeling you get when you finish the first draft. Don't worry about grammatical perfection or a bad paragraph, that's not what NaNoWriMo or drafts are about. Perfection comes later but, armed with a plan for a great story with memorable characters and locations, you'll be one step closer.