Lucy in Bookland

Alright now, before we go much further we have to introduce a common held belief in the NaNoWriMo culture: the idea that there are two kinds of writers, those that plot out their stories in detail beforehand, and those that write by the seat of their pants. They’re affectionately referred to as “plotters” and “pantsers.” Neither is right or wrong; it just comes down to how your brain works.

With that said, I believe that we’re all a bit of both. The most meticulously planned out story can still take a wild turn, and even the most spontaneous story can often benefit from at least a bit of direction, even if it’s only so much as a vague idea or a few prompts. I’ve tried both, and while I find that more complicated outlining techniques are great for second and third and fourth drafts, I need something simpler for rough drafts.

This technique is not unique or original. I picked it up from watching Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The idea is to have three plot lines (A, B, and C, get it?), which you can jump back and forth between. Imagine an episode of TNG: the ship has been sent on a diplomatic mission, and Captain Picard is in charge of handling contact with an alien planet. That’s your A plot line. In the meantime, Wesley Crusher has discovered something strange in his studies, and Riker is humoring him and helping him figure it out (B plot line). And periodically, we see Data and Geordi preparing for their weekly poker game (C plot line). Throughout the 45 minute episode, we’ll jump back and forth between these. Ultimately, Wesley’s project may prove to be related to Captain Picard’s mission. Or maybe Geordi and Data will unearth an important malfunction while they’re trying to create the perfect poker program on the holodeck, and we’ll discover that Wesley was right all along, while Picard continues on undisturbed. Occasionally all three plot lines will overlap.

You will see this format a lot through television; sometimes very overtly, like in the example above, and sometimes more subtly. But the point is, these three plot lines allow you the freedom to jump around in the story. It gives you something to turn to when you’re stuck, or when you need a change of pace to undercut tension, or a break for comic relief. It keeps your story new and interesting, for your future readers but also for yourself.

With Nano, your biggest danger is feeling trapped in a scene you don’t want to be writing. If that happens, I recommend you skip it, and the easiest way to do that is to swing over to one of your other plot lines. Your goal here is to keep momentum going. You can come back to boring scenes in the editing phase (and chances are, you may not need them after all).

You don’t have to use three plot lines, but too many and you’ll lose track of what you’re doing, and too few will leave you with not enough variety to keep your brain going.

Now, how to keep track of those plot lines? I do it with three columns, shown below. Let’s use that theoretical Stark Trek episode, shall we?

I’ve laid out the main plot points above. You can see that the three plot lines don’t all line up perfectly, and there are a lot of holes to fill in. But this way when I sit down to write, I just have to pick a plot line to focus on. If I finish a scene and need a change, I can jump to another one. It’s all right there; I just have to connect points, build up to others, and let inspiration strike. Most importantly, I always have something to turn to if I get stuck.

I find this method really easy to generate quickly, and just as easy to adjust or ignore when I’m in the thick of writing. Hopefully, it’ll help you start building that road map to your own novel!

Next time, we’re going to dig into characters!

My first rule of NaNoWriMo is: start on time.

I really can’t emphasize this enough; there may be no mathematical difference between being 5,000 words behind in Week 1 and 5,000 words behind in Week 3, but that 5,000 words will feel a lot easier to make up when you’ve already written 35,000, as opposed to staring down a big blank page.

The key to starting on time, and keeping on top of your word count, is to build good habits, and build them early. Since we’re spending this month prepping for November, I say, start building those habits now, while the stakes are low.

Figure out when you can fit writing into your schedule. It won’t happen naturally; otherwise, you’d already be doing it. If you’re planning to do NaNoWriMo, chances are you like writing, and have at least thought about being a writer before. Well, this is how you do it: writing, consistently, ongoingly. I’m not saying you have to write every single day or you’re not a real writer, but you do have to write to be a writer. And the easiest way to do that is to make it into a habit.

There is no cookie cutter answer to this question; the habit will be different for everyone. Maybe you’re a night owl, so writing before bed works the best. Maybe it’s easiest for you to get up a little extra early, and write before you go to work or wake your kids up for school. Maybe you’re going to go to a cafe everyday after class and bang out your word count. Try one thing, and if that doesn’t seem to work, try something else; you’ll find your sweet spot, and it’ll make the whole process easier.

The more of a ritual you can make of this, the easier it will be to trick your brain into being productive on a daily basis. My first year doing Nano, I bought packs of instant apple cider mix, and whenever I wrote, I made myself a warm cup of cider. To this day, warm apple cider is something I associate with writing, and when I have it, it’s that much quicker for me to slip into Writing Mode.

Of course, you won’t really know what works until you’re in the thick of it in November, but now is the perfect time to experiment. Set aside some time, start jotting down notes about the stories in your head, and find out what habits work best for you.

Next time, we’ll look at building a rough outline for your Nano novel!