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How Do You Want to Feel During NaNoWriMo?
In order to win NaNoWriMo, you have to write 50,000 words. Sometimes, this is an excellent way to power through drafting a new story. Other times, it’s a recipe for disaster.
It takes a lot of preparation, energy, and support to write 1,667 words every day of November, and sometimes, it’s just not possible.
When life derails our lofty writer goals, it’s easy to feel like a failure, but that’s just super unhelpful, so I want to invite you to think about NaNoWriMo differently.
Character Development 101: Find Your Protagonist’s Beliefs
The most important thing to know about your book is its point, but once you know your point, you need to find your protagonist’s character arc.
Let’s take a second to discuss why character arc is so important.
Check out the Story Tree.
The #1 Thing to Do Before NaNoWriMo: Find Your Novel’s Point
NaNoWriMo is a wonderful way to make rapid progress on your story, to prove to yourself that you’re a writer, and to finally write that damn book!
But the 50,000 words you write for NaNo can sometimes turn into a tangled heap you get snarled inside.
If you plan to participate in NaNoWriMo, there’s one thing I want you to do first: find your novel’s point.
Writing Tip: Be Specific
If you want your reader to remember your book, you need to be specific.
Sometimes, we think being broad will reach more people because it’s more relatable, but really, when we are general, we speak to no one.
It’s when we are specific that we connect with people.
Plot Structure Cheat Sheet: Find the Best Plot Structure For Your Novel
Have you ever spent hours and hours scouring the interwebs for the best plot structure?
(Psst, a plot structure is a formula for structuring a story. Think Save the Cat and the Hero’s Journey.)
This process often results in nothing but confusion and overwhelm.
How do you know whether to choose the Four Act Structure, Seven Point Structure, or Heroine’s Journey?
Grow Your Story Tree
You are the roots of your story.
Every piece of your novel comes from you, so you’ve got to embrace yourself, because you can only be as honest with the reader as you are with yourself.
The first thing I help writers do is discover the unique gifts, passions, and goals they bring to their writing.
What life events most influenced who you are?
Don’t Follow the Muse. Follow a Plan.
The Muse, bless her heart, should not be the orchestrator of your book.
The Muse is wiley, distracted, fickle. What she wants more than anything is fun, adventure, and, please god, anything new.
If you let the Muse guide your novel, it will never arrive anywhere.
The Snowball of Misbelief
Most writers don’t understand how important it is to merge your plot with your character arc, but this is the secret to writing a powerful novel.
If you can master this skill, you’ll be well on your way to a book that is unputdownable AND punches your readers in the heart.
Let me introduce you to my favorite tool for illustrating this concept.