November isn’t that far off and so with National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) in mind, I’m going to use one post in September and one in October to focus on what it takes to sit down and actually write a novel.
Also, even though it isn’t November yet, any month is a fantastic month to tackle that writing project you’ve been kicking around.
Honestly Ask: Do I want to write this?
If you’re just planning to write for this year’s NaNoWriMO, stick it in a drawer and move on with your life, you can more or less skip this step.
HOWEVER, if you’re planning to spend years of your life writing, re-writing, editing, defending, obsessing over this story, you might want to devote (at least) five minutes to asking yourself, “Do I love these character, their world, and this story enough to spend that amount of time on it?”
If the answer is “no,” that’s fine. You’ll find another story that gives you the fire in your belly you need. In the meantime you could turn this idea into a short story. Most of my short stories are ideas I’ve loved but not quite enough to spend years of my life on them.
Start NaNoWriMo By Writing (not outlining)
Some of us need outlines. I need outlines. However, DON’T try to write a full outline before you write chapter one. In fact I wouldn’t try to write a full outline before you’re at least halfway through your first draft.
If you want to jot down some ideas before you forget them, go for it. Jot away! However, I would avoid outlining anything that doesn’t come to you organically.
To put it more clearly: when I’m outlining I’ll write down the parts of the story I have already fleshed out in my head. While I do this, more of the story will come to me, but I’ll eventually reach a section where I don’t know what happens next and then I…
And go back and start writing those chapters.
Your story is going to change so much as you write it. It will change while you write the rough draft and will continue to change in later drafts long after NaNoWriMo is over. Chapter five might become chapter one. Your villain might become an anti-hero. that there really isn’t much of a point to try to write the whole thing out before you have a rough draft. Jot down what ideas come to you so you don’t forget them, but don’t linger in the outlining stage. Start writing chapter one ASAP and trust the rest will come to you during the natural process of storytelling.
(Just in case you want more detail: I have written a whole series of posts on writing outlines.)
Start With An Active Hero
In the old days novels could begin with a drawn out history of the heroe’s lineage, how their ancestors arrived in the city where they live, what they did for money, who they married and how they died. Today, in 2020, most of this information can be saved for later in the story.
For the most part, readers want stories to start with the character being active, doing something that will:
- Help us like them.
- Show us what kind of person they are.
- Contain conflict.
Even if your hero is an introvert (like mine usually are), don’t just start your NaNoWriMo novel with them hiding in their room. Begin the story with them out in the world actively being an introvert. Show them on a first date, dropping a breakfast burrito in the mud, or screwing up a job interview.
Give us conflict! I’m not saying you need to start with an epic battle. All you need to do on page one is introduce us to your hero in a unique way and show us what they’re like under pressure (even if it’s just a little bit of pressure).
That’s it for Part I. In October I’ll post Part II in which I’ll get into a little more detail on how to introduce your heroes and what NOT to do in your opening pages.
