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Slide Notes
It's week 2 of NaNoWriMo and all the shiny fun sparkles have fallen of your novel. Here's a quick pick-me-up to get you back on track and reinvigorated. Big thanks to "No Plot? No Problem: A Low-Stress, High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" by Chris Baty. An excellent book! Get it at www.nanowrimo.org
Tools to fight the doldrums
Published on Nov 18, 2015
It's week 2 of NaNoWriMo and all the sparkly sequins and new novel smell have worn off. It's the dreaded doldrums. Fight back with these tips! National Novel Writing Month Help
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Tools to fight the doldrums
NaNoWriMo Week 2
It's week 2 of NaNoWriMo and all the shiny fun sparkles have fallen of your novel. Here's a quick pick-me-up to get you back on track and reinvigorated. Big thanks to "No Plot? No Problem: A Low-Stress, High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days" by Chris Baty. An excellent book! Get it at www.nanowrimo.org
Photo by tiffa130
Common Week 2 Issues
- The honeymoon is over
- POV SOS
- Die protagonist die
- Prairie burns
- Wrath of the inner editor
Here are the big culprits that will slow you down and bog down your word count.
Photo by Chapendra
The honeymoon is over?
Add some spice!
It happens. Your novel, which you thought was sweet and caring and could cook a mean apple pie, has revealed itself to be a bit selfish, has left its stinky socks on the floor, and snores really really loudly. But you've got to make this marriage work!
Photo by muha...
Talk it out
Have a plot fixing party
One idea... get your friends together (either fellow NaNo peeps or ... you know... sane people) and talk about your plot. Tell them where you're stuck and ask them what to do. Fresh ideas will ensue. Guaranteed.
Photo by Juliana Coutinho
Ask mom & dad
Bonus: They feel needed!
Remember those folks who feed and clothe you? They'll be super excited if you walk up to them and say, "Hey... I wanna talk to you about something I'm doing at school. And I need your help." Tell them about your novel and two great things will happen: they'll help and they'll feel needed. You might even get chocolate. (Not guaranteed.)
Photo by SanFranAnnie
Add
- A dream sequence
- A massacre
- A flashback
- A flash forward
- A road trip
When all else fails, jump start your novel's heart with one or more of these quick fixes.
Photo by Môsieur J. [version 9.1]
POV SOS
aka: I should have written this in 3rd person!
Suddenly, you realize that you should have been saying "he walked" instead of "I walked." Or vice versa. So, what. Do you go back and fix it?
Photo by geezaweezer
Don't
One word.
Nope. Go ahead and insert in all caps CHANGE POINT OF VIEW BEFORE THIS POINT. And then change it to the one you think you should have used. But she shouldn't go back and change what she already wrote or she will hate herself.
Photo by dsevilla
Die Protagonist Die!
aka: I hate my hero but I love her BFF
Your main character gets boring. It happens. (Just look at Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby.) And your side supporting character is, like, super cool. And it seems like your sidekick really wants to tell the story now.
Photo by clotho98
Commit a Character Coup!
Consider the ramifications...
Go back and look at your plot planner from October. Will your plot withstand this big change? Does it bug you? If all systems are green, go for it. Switch it up. You can either fix it later in March (NaNoEdMo) or you can use first person collective.
Photo by antitezo
Prairie Burns
aka I hate everything I wrote
Burn it! Burn it all! You might hate everything and just want to scrap it and start over.
Photo by esagor
Resist
and persist
Resist the urge. Persist. NaNoWriMo is a study in long term push. You wouldn't go back and restart your marathon because you didn't like the shirt you wore, right?
Photo by mafate69
Consider
- Don't get it right, get it written
- Double back and add
- FIX THIS LATER
- Short sprints over long hauls
- Take a day off
Remember these gems.
It's a rough draft. Let it be a rough draft.
If you go back and look at something in your story, make it a rule that you have to add to that scene.
If you know what your next scene is and you don't know how to get there, type in ADD SCENE HERE WHERE SHE FIGURES OUT WHO DID IT AND GOES TO CONFRONT HIM.
Try 10 minute sprints throughout the day instead of big long writing marathons.
Take a day off. Have a Netflix binge. Go swimming. Nap. It will recharge your batteries.
It's a rough draft. Let it be a rough draft.
If you go back and look at something in your story, make it a rule that you have to add to that scene.
If you know what your next scene is and you don't know how to get there, type in ADD SCENE HERE WHERE SHE FIGURES OUT WHO DID IT AND GOES TO CONFRONT HIM.
Try 10 minute sprints throughout the day instead of big long writing marathons.
Take a day off. Have a Netflix binge. Go swimming. Nap. It will recharge your batteries.
Photo by ..Alba..
Wrath
of the inner editor
You just realized that somewhere along the way you switched verb tenses? You want to go back and fix it. Oh... and you changed your protagonist's name by accident. Better go fix it. Right? Wrong.
Your inner editor is just lonely and neglected. Usually he gets to come out and tinker by this point. But not in November.
Your inner editor is just lonely and neglected. Usually he gets to come out and tinker by this point. But not in November.
Photo by JoséMa Orsini
The rules
- Don't delete
- Don't worry about bad scenes
- Skip ahead with FERNS
- Tiny window treatments
Remember these rules.
No deletions. Only additions.
Don't worry about bad scenes, mistakes, inconsistencies, or continuity errors. That's for March.
Tag those problem spots by typing FERN. You can go fix your FERNs in March.
Reduce your window size or increase your font size if you have a tendency to go back and edit. Out of sight out of mind.
No deletions. Only additions.
Don't worry about bad scenes, mistakes, inconsistencies, or continuity errors. That's for March.
Tag those problem spots by typing FERN. You can go fix your FERNs in March.
Reduce your window size or increase your font size if you have a tendency to go back and edit. Out of sight out of mind.
Photo by brewbooks
Halfway Home!
Hey Hero, you're nearly
And remember! You're a hero! You're almost halfway home and you've written a ton already! Write on!
Photo by JD Hancock
