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Help! I’m Just Starting #NaNoWriMo! (Emergency Tip Day 1)

“I’m late starting my NaNoWriMo novel!”

Only a crazy, masochistic writer would start NaNoWriMo in the last week of the month. 

I know. I’ve done that four years in a row!
Perhaps you find yourself in a similar position. Well, never fear! While I will continue my NaNoWriMo Tips for the month, I’ll also show you how to SMOOSH the Tips into seven days! Wacky, huh?
As with my monthly tips, the basic idea is to plan first (four days) and write afterward (three days). Yes, that leaves only three days to write the beginning, middle and end of your novel…you’ll need full days, don’t expect to do this if all you have is two hours a day. But if you do have a full work day to devote, you can write a novel this fast.
Here it is in brief:
Planning
Day One: Refine Your  Idea – Brainstorm a Log Line and create a Beat Sheet
Day Two: Expand Your Idea – Deepen Your Characters and Spice up Your Plot
Day Three:  Outline Your Novel – Create a Scene by Scene Outline
Day Four: Outline Your Scenes – Scene Helper
Writing
Day Five: Draft Your Scenes – From Scene to Draft – First Third of Your Novel
Day Six: Keep Going on that Draft – Second Third of Your Novel 
Day Seven: Wow, you have a whole extra day to write, plenty of time – Third Third.

If the old time pulp fiction authors could write a novel in 3 days, so can you. Oh, right, they weren’t on Twitter. Never mind…

Day One: Refine your idea.

Step One: Create a Log Line
Step Two: Write a Blurb
Step Three: Make a Beat Sheet

Step One: Create a Log Line

By the end of the first day, you’ll want to have a beat sheet for your novel. That means you need to brainstorm, research and create a story arc for your novel all in one day. A good way to see if you have a strong initial idea is to start with your log line. A log line is the one line description of your book that captures the “high concept” inherent in your novel… or low concept, if its that kind of novel.
Let’s assume you have some sort of vague idea. You need to tighten that up into the two essential elements of story: a person with a problem. Until you have a person and that person has a problem, there’s no story, no novel.
Take your vague idea and start brainstorming related ideas. Here’s a simple Three Step Guide to Brainstorming Online:
1. Make word associations about your idea until you have at least twenty related words. Pick the three most interesting ones.
2. Google each of those words separately and together. Scan the results for cool stuff that inspires you further.
3. Ask What If…? questions. 
Repeat as needed until you have a character with a problem. Then write down a one or two line summary of that person and problem. Refine the wording until it makes a catchy and succinct a log line.

Example: 

My vague idea: A holiday paranormal / urban fantasy story, like my October Knight story, that revolves around September.
My brainstorming words: September, Back to School, Ghost Hunter
My one or two line summary: Clare is a ghost-hunter, but when she starts at a new school, a ghost manages to throw her out of her own body and take it over. Now Clare is the ghost, and the one being hunted.
My log line: When a ghost-hunter becomes a ghost, she must get her body back from an evil spirit or remain that way for eternity.

Step Two: Write a Blurb

You’ll probably have an idea for a blurb, or paragraph long summary, at the same time as you think of your log line. In fact, you might find it easier to write a paragraph than a one-liner. Write it down now. The blurb can be like one you’d read on the back of a book (not giving away the ending), or include the “spoiler” (ending).
You need to know your ending going in, however. If you haven’t included the ending in your blurb, write that down too.
When I sat down to write 

Example: 

When I sat down to write the blurb for September Knight, I decided I wanted to have some fun with the story and include a meta-story that pokes a little (good natured) fun at the Young Adult Paranormal genre itself. There are certain conventions of the genre, like Insta-love and the Love Triangle that are totally cliche — instead of avoiding them, I’d include them but draw attention to them. 


Blurb for September Knight:
I know the rules.

First, I find out that I’m heir to a great destiny and a special power.

Check.

Second, I find myself torn between two hot guys, preferably a vamp and werewolf.

Check. (Ok, make that a vamp and a Mysterious Bad Boy of an Unspecified Supernatural Origin.)

Third, I find my enemies before they find me.

Um. Oops.

Unfortunately one of my enemies has found me first and stolen my body – and my power – and – this is what really burns me –  even my hottie vamp admirer. Seriously? The point is…

Instead of being the ghost-hunter, I’m the ghost.

Step Three: Make a Beat Sheet

Next, you take your summary paragraph and work it into a beat sheet. See the Tips (especially Create a Three Act Beat Sheet) listed below for help with this if you’ve never made a beat sheet before.

Example: 

Here’s the Beat Sheet for September Knight. I use a Four Act structure, but if you’re not sure how many acts you want, default to Three–you can’t go wrong with Three Acts.

I actually started by writing a one line summary for each of my acts:

WEEK 1: ENROLLMENT

Clare, who recently tried to commit suicide, finds out her father is a Ghulstryker, and so is she. Meets Zola the ghost.
WEEK 2: TRY OUTS

Zola steals Clare’s body and tries out for all the things Clare wanted to do but was afraid to do.

WEEK 3: CHOOSING TEAMS

Clare takes back her body, but then fails at everything and disappoints her parents.

WEEK 4: OPEN HOUSE

Clare takes back her body again: must perform in the play, on the squad and the game.

Then I expanded each of those into three chapters (since I know this book will have twelve chapters).

WEEK 1: ENROLLMENT

Clare, who recently tried to commit suicide, finds out her father is a Ghulstryker, and so is she. Meets Zola the ghost.

1.                1. Labor Day [Opening conflict- Protagonist in daily life]

1                   2. Back to School [Resistance to the opportunity – Meets Two Hotties] 

3.  Open Enrollment [Opportunity for change- Point of No Return]

WEEK 2: TRY OUTS

Zola steals Clare’s body and tries out for all the things Clare wanted to do but was afraid to do.

4. The Theatre Scene [Entering the New Situation] – Zola takes her body and auditions for play

5. The Cheerleader Squad [Meeting Friends, Enemies or Romance]– Zola auditions for the squad

6. The Soccer Team [Problem Brings Them Together.] – Zola tries out for soccer

WEEK 3: CHOOSING TEAMS

Clare takes back her body, but then fails at everything and disappoints her parents.

7. The Knights of the Semi-Circular Table [Problem Drives Them Apart] – Clare takes back her body

8. Flunking [Crisis Hits] —Clare ruins her life and gives the body back to Zola

9. A Better Me [Terrible Secret Revealed] – Clare finds out that Zola is a vampire

WEEK 4: OPEN HOUSE

Clare takes back her body again: must perform in the play, on the squad and the game.

10. Performance Anxiety [All Seems Lost]

11. The Rise of Mordrock [Self-Sacrifice & Symbolic Death] – Clare fights to send him back

12. Clare Deals [Final Showdown / Conclusion]–  Wrap up

Here’s some other steps to do on Day One:

NaNoWriMo Tip #24: Signs Your Novel Is Waving Red Flags

Beyoncé leads a post-apocalyptic revolution. In lingerie, as one does.

These are my personal tips for NaNoWriMo. You know the drill. Take only what works.

Writer’s block is almost always a red flag warning you about some problem with the novel. (The only other cause for writer’s block is severe personal stress, which may be negative, like a divorse, or positive, like a move, but either way absorbs all your mental energy. However, that’s outside the scope of these Tips. If you are in such a situation, give yourself a break and take care of the issue first.)

One of these red flags, and one that I’ve faced many times, is Ignorance. You sit down ready to write a scene…it’s right there in your outline… it should be no problem. You lift your fingers, like a piano prodigy, to wrest sweet story music from your keyboard, and…

Nothing.

The scene is not working because there’s something that’s stumping you. For me, it’s often something like the place and time of the scene. Sometimes it’s a deeper problem though. Occasionally, it’s something god-awful like a Plot Abyss At The Heart of the Whole Damn Book. (Shudder.)

Here are a couple of typical problems waiting to ambush you:

1. Logistical Problems.

Logistical issues trip me up all the time. This should have been ironed out a long time ago thanks to prepping my Map and Calendar, but I may have (1) neglected to do that, or (2) changed some critical thing in the plot that makes the map or calendar obsolete or (3) realize as I sit down to write the scene that what I planned so carefully was completely idiotic. It makes no sense, but I’ve already written the previous scenes that way, and now how am I going to make sense of it? Are they on the West slope or the East slope? Is it day or night? Is she wearing pants or a skirt? Are there five or seven goblins, and are they armed with spears or swords?

It’s amazing how much trivial crap like this can mess me up.

2. Character Issues.

A worse problem occurs when I’m about to write a scene and realize that I have no idea why my character is doing X. Usually that’s because I don’t know my character well enough—he’s a minor character, perhaps, there for plot purposes, who is still a cipher to me—or because I do know my character, and know he wouldn’t do X. Yet X he must.

Deep inside, the Three Laws of Wribotics won’t allow me to harm or by inaction allow harm to come to the basic integrity of my Character’s character, so if I command myself to do so, my head implodes.

3. Plot Holes.

A third kind of problem is the inverse of the above. I have some marvelous scene in which my characters have an exciting and dramatic conflict…and no logical way to include it. My plotroad has more plotholes than a country lane.

The absolute worst case scenario—and I have weathered it and lived to tell the tale—is if I realize that the entire premise of my book makes no sense at all.  Now, it’s in order to spare you this Horror From Beyond that I’ve suggested outlining your novel a thousand different ways before writing it, to discover any such Abysmal threats long before you’ve written 35,000 words. But. Maybe you didn’t listen to that, or maybe you somehow overlooked the Gaping Chasm of Logic until now by sheer blind stubbornness.

If any of these situations has befallen you, first let me pat you on the back and reassure you.

There, there. It’s all going to be okay.

It can be fixed. All you have to do is apply the Universal Remedy for all Writing Problems. Okay, chocolate, but that’s not where I was going. I mean, of course, brainstorming.

Most plot holes can be plugged with chocolate.
Sit down and brainstorm the logistics. Consult your map, or, if you skipped that stage, you bad child, draw one.

Sit down and brainstorm about who this character is and what motivates him. If he would never do this, ask what would makehim do this, or what he would do instead.

Sit down and brainstorm the plot possibilities.

As always when you brainstorm, throw out the first few cliché and obvious ideas. Don’t take the easy way out, either.

1. If your problem is logistical, don’t leave it vague and hope no one will notice.

Example: “Julie wasn’t sure how far she ran, but soon she reached the gas station…”

Julie can be unsure how far she ran, but youshould have a clue.

2. If your problem is character motivation, don’t insert an inexplicable mood swing.

Example: “Normally, Julie was hard working and never broke any rules, but today, for no reason at all, she decided to smoke weed on the pier while shooting pigeons with a BB gun.”

The reader will assume you are being ironic, that Julie is actually lazy and slightly wacked, not that she is normally hardworking. This works only if you are trying to be a smart aleck. Or if you have established a damn good reason for Julie’s character to change so dramatically.

3. If your problem is plot, don’t use coincidence, chance or deus ex machine.

Example: “Half way through the fight, Julie suddenly remembered her third grade Hapkido classes and defeated the five ninjas. She rushed to the computer. How would she break in? Suddenly she remembered her seventh grade nerd boyfriend who had taught her and how to hack high security government computers.”

 

Just because a bunch of Hollywood B-movies jump off this cliff, does that mean you have to do it too?



 If you prefer these Tips as an ebook you can buy it here for $0.99:

 

Update on NaNoWriMo #23 – From Outline to Draft

Blake Snyder Beat SheetI thought I would share how I am doing with the multiple Outlining methods I mentioned during the earlier Tips. I’ve used all of them. Some I can’t show today, such as the Sticky-Note Outline, because I haven’t taken a photo of my Sticky-Note notebook yet. (I will try to do that over the next couple of days.) However, I’ll show how I went from Beat Sheet to Detailed Outline to Draft.

Here’s the Beat Sheet template I used (with 15 beats):

Act I:
1. Opening conflict.
2. Protagonist is shown in daily life, before transformation
3. Opportunity for change.
4. Resistance to the opportunity.
5. Point of No Return—Opportunity Accepted.
Act II:
6. Entering the New Situation.
7. Meeting Friends, Enemies or Romance.
8. Problem Brings Them Together.
9. Problem Drives Them Apart.
10. Crisis Hits
Act III:
11. Terrible Secret Revealed or Attack Starts
12. All Seems Lost
13. Self-Sacrifice or Symbolic Death
14. Final Showdown
15. Conclusion (Wedding Bells, Award Ceremony, Pile of Bodies or Ride into Sunset)

When I moved to a 12 Chapter structure, it meant that some beats would share a chapter. Not surprisingly, the order of the beats also wiggled a bit in execution. Of course, that’s fine. Also notice that I switched from Three Acts to Four. (Pictured: the Beat Sheet for another book, September Knight.)

September Knight-Beat Sheet word shot

Here’s the new Beat Sheet:


WEEK 1: SPIRIT WEEK
Chapter 1 – School Spirit [Opening conflict – Meeting the Romance – Opportunity for Change –  Resistance to the opportunity]
Chapter 2 – Myron, Leth & Drake [Protagonist in daily life – Meeting friends]
            Chapter 3 – Snow in Hell California[Point of No Return – Opportunity Accepted.]
WEEK 3: HOMECOMING
            Chapter 4 – School Bus of Love [Entering the New Situation]
            Chapter 5 – Pep Rally [Meeting friends – Problem Brings Them Together.]
Chapter 6 – Coronation [Problem Drives Them Apart.]
WEEK 3: HELL HOUSE
Chapter 7 – Fight [Problem Brings Them Together.]
Chapter 8 – Key [Crisis hits]
Chapter 9 – Ghulinom [Terrible Secret Revealed]
WEEK 4: HALLOWEEN
Chapter 10 – Tartarus [All Seems Lost]
Chapter 11 – Trick [Self-Sacrifice & Symbolic Death]
Chapter 12 – Treat [Final Showdown / Conclusion]

Next, I expanded the Beat Sheet to block out the scene by scene outline. Again, you can see that I varied the structure of this outline to meet the specific needs of this book. Since the book is first person, keeping track of PoV was not a big issue for me here as it is in my Unfinished Song books.

Also, I don’t really need to remind myself about having a Hook and a Cliffhanger, it’s fairly internalized by now. (In the revision stage, I’ll check my scenes again just to make sure each is as strong as it can be.) Instead, I simply listed the scenes within each chapter. These scenes may or may not be separated in the draft.

CHAPTER ONE: SCHOOL SPIRIT

LOCATION: Darkgate High School, Ghulinom
SCENE 1 – Ghulinom; Darkgate High School; Gate
Brandon arrives at a maximum-security facility…his high school. He is feared and respected because everyone, even the armed guards thing he is a drug dealer.
SCENE 2 – Ghulinom, Darkgate High School; Math Class
His “DUST” is really Magic Dust, which he keeps in a thermos. It’s one of 3 things his mother left him before she died. While he waits for geometry to start, he wraps a bindle of Dust and puts it in his sock. Someone in a black trench coat trips over him and is so frightened that he runs off.
Class begins. MR. ARKANE, the teacher, a demon begins to say odd things about planes and dimensions. Brandon looks up and meets his black eyes, and realizes that Arkane is speaking telepathically…also that he can’t look away.
Until his shoe comes alive and starts eating his foot.
SCENE 3 – Earth; Cleargate High School; Quad
Brandon rushes out into the quad where he reaches into his thermos for Dust…but it’s empty. All he has left is the Key left to him by his mother. Desperate, he grabs it, and it sends him to another dimension: Earth. At first he thinks he’s spirit-walking, but then he realizes he’s on Earth in the flesh.
A kitten leaps into his arms, followed by a beautiful blonde who says, “Hand over the cat. It’s needed in a murder investigation.” She is CLARE. She sees that he’s green (to his horror) but thinks he’s wearing a costume for Spirit Week.
Three more humans arrive: DAMIAN, tall, dark and handsome, who possessively puts his arm around Clare’s waist; TIFFANY, who is dressed like a Christmas present, and a third girl who says the cat his hers.  But when Brandon hands her the cat, he realizes she’s a ghost…and the other three realize he can see ghosts…just as they can. Clare explains her family are Ghulstrykers, with an Ancestral Weapon to fight ghosts. A ghost walks through her and she blows his head off.  Because of that, they invite him to join them in the library to discuss the murder.
SCENE 4 – Earth; Cleargate High School; Library
In the library, Clare explains that the ghost WALIDA ABOUDI was killed by another ghost, DORCAS LYNCH, the vengeful victim of a Homecoming prank. To draw the ghost out, Clare wants to run for Homecoming, but isn’t sure how to go about it. (Tiffany says she would, but as an immortal, it wouldn’t be fair.) Brandan says bribery works and experiments with the Key to make a candy with her name. When he makes one candy with her name on it, he’s pleased with himself and shows it to her.
SCENE 5 – Earth; Cleargate High School; Quad
Screams outside. They rush to find a rain of candy with “Clare & Brandon” on them. Clare is humiliated. Brandon says he didn’t do it; maybe it’s a Halloween Miracle. Or maybe, he thinks, that Key is a lot more powerful than I realized. Except… he never would have put his own name on the candy.
Clare is angry. Tiffany tells Brandon he would be better for her than Damian. Damian shows up and Tiffany seems frightened of him.
But Brandon freaks out when he thinks about being with Clare. He’s not good for her. Brandon suddenly wonders what he’s doing there.
A student walks by and Clare casually kills him. Brandon is horrified but she explains the student was actually a spirit who didn’t belong on Earth. Brandon realizes this applies to him every bit as much…and Clare is right. He doesn’t belong.
How could he have thought he could go back to Earth? He decides to go home to Ghulinom where he belongs.

Tomorrow I’ll show some samples of my Rich Outline vs Draft.