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As I’m sure you all are very much aware week three is upon
us. For many that is a fearful time at the start of the week. There are a few
reasons for this. It might be that you’ve used up all of the ideas you had planned
before Nano and now you’re desperately trying to figure out what happens next.
Or maybe you have been pantsing it all this time and now you have no idea what
do with the mess of plot points you’ve created and have no idea how to put them
together. Or maybe you’re just so
far behind that giving up seems like the easiest option. And unfortunately the actual
bulk of week three isn’t immune to unpleasant realization either. If you
haven’t already you might come to the conclusion that you are writing total
crap and you hate yourself for spending time and energy on it. Or maybe at some
point this week you’ll realized that despite know your ending you have no idea
how to get there. Week three, it
can be a tough thing.
But don’t give up. Here’s something to keep in mind. Even if
you’re behind you are now entering the halfway point the month and after this
week its all down hill. But I realize that isn’t a very practically piece of
advice and hardly solves your possible myriad of problems. Luck for you I want
this to be more then just a pep talk, it’s a practical talk too!
So lets address some of your potential problems. If you’re
behind adjust your daily writing target. There should be a helpful number on
your Nano stats graph. If you’re wildly behind consider adjusting your end
target. It might be impossible for you to reach 50K, but 25K totally doable.
Don’t let your need to “win” stop you from realizing what the real prize of Nano
is – potentially thousand of words you would have never written otherwise. No
one will judge for lowering your goal – we’ve all been there. And as generally
advice come to write ins and join me on chat for word wars. I’m basically
always on after 8pm.
As for plot related problems, here are a few helpful tips.
If you’re stuck between a planned beginning and planned ending, look over what
you’ve written before. Is there a plot thread you forgot about, is there a
character you can bring back for added drama (maybe even from the dead?) or is
there a story element left unexploited (what is in that attic? Why wouldn’t Jon
ask Sally out?). Look over the adoptable threads and dare threads to see if it sparks
any ideas.
You can also try to question method of plotting, which can
work even if you don’t know your ending. Try writing what you need to know as a
question. For example: “How do I get Sally to London?” Write out as many possible
scenarios as you can think of. Choose one that works for you. If needed write a
follow up question. “How does she pay for the dragon rental service she used to
fly to London?” Again write up all the answers. Keep this up until you have the
information you need to write the next scene or even to the end of the novel.
This can even work when you have lots of plot thread and no idea how to link
them together. Ask instead “What does Annie’s pet panda’s illness have to do
with Sally moving to London?”
But then there is the hardest one of all. You hate your
story. It’s okay. I’ve totally been there before. You’re not alone. But I would
like to take a moment to remind everyone that most writers go through a period
of disliking their story. It’s completely normal and if you keep writing it
very well may pass. Lets say though that you genuinely can’t stand it, at this
point you have a few options. Look at the story, see where you stopped liking
the direction it went in, and ignore everything from that point onward. Don’t
delete - italicize it and start again. This can also work if you feel you’ve
written yourself into a corner. Another opinion is to skip ahead to a portion
you are looking forward to writing, keep in mind this will make editing harder
later.
But say there isn’t anything you like. Well here are a few
last resort options. I say last resort mostly because you’ve gotten this far
already (these are great for week one issues though). Basically they boil down
to: Drop it like it’s hot. Take a side character you love and write their story
instead or embrace a subplot as the main story. Drop storylines you don’t like
anymore. Or if it comes down to it write a completely different story.
And at the bottom of the glorious barrel is just giving into
the Nano madness. Use any dares you read, break the fourth wall, sex it up,
forget contractions exist, write about the vase of flowers on the main
characters table for three paragraphs. (Note: these are great for idea mining,
but if you story hasn’t yet descended into Nano madness yet, I would suggest
against these methods. You’ll thank yourself later when you edit.)
The point is, just keep writing, especially if this is your
first year or if you haven’t won before because you gave up. If you keep
writing you might find yourself with something better then you could have hoped
at the end of the month. However if you’ve won before and are looking to
improve your writing craft I would advise avoiding Nano madness. Just keep
powering through, don’t jump head, don’t change major story elements and use
the more sensible options suggested earlier – you’ll be surprised what you will
learn.
And if you’re ahead and you love your story and know exactly
what you want to write – well you just sit in your teacher’s pet over achieving
corner while the rest of us shoot dirty looks at you.
p.s. – Don’t forget to sleep, eat, hang out with friends and
go outside. And leave the guilt at home! You’ll be surprised at how much easier
that makes writing and how much more you’ll enjoy the month.
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