Inspiration Trick

Feeling really uninspired and want to figure out something to write? Look around you. Pick five words that you think of when looking around. Incorporate them into your story.

For example, I have pantyhose, a painting that reminds me of a map, high heels, empty cans, and a scarf. I'm thinking... Aspiring model (heels, pantyhose) on a diet (cans) about to leave (map, scarf) for a meeting with a perspective client. I now have someone to distract my MC from reaching his goal.

And today's the half-way mark! Yay! You're supposed to hit 25,005 words tonight. There already? Fabulous! Congratulations. Not quite up to speed? You still have fifteen days to catch up!

Characters running away from you?

23,338 words should be you word count by midnight tonight.

And guess what? I'm ahead! I had one amazing, amazing day. I got an idea and the words just kept coming and coming. I gave up on sleep to do it, but I managed! I've never had a day like that before during NaNo. I think it's because I stopped worrying about getting to that goal right now and just let the words happen. I let the idea go until the end and it worked. So next time you get an awesome idea, don't stop when you hit that magical 1667 words. Keep going until the idea's done.

Also, I want to talk a little bit about characters. Yours might be running away from you by now. I know mine are. They aren't sticking to that damn outline you made! They've gotten more emotional or maybe angrier or more stoic. Whatever the reason is, they aren't acting like you expected anymore. This could be a good thing. I personally always run with the change.

I know the characters better now- know more about their motivations and feelings, have more exact examples of how they react to situations. And I like that. I think forcing them back into the guidelines is forcing them to act. They've become real people to me, with their own reactions and that's something to celebrate. The realer they are to you, the realer they'll be to your readers.

However, sometimes the new characters will just not work. They won't follow the path they're supposed to be on to get to that end moment. You have two options at this point: you could force them back into their original guidelines. It will work sometimes and it is possible. Sometimes it is the only thing that will work. Other times, you can alter that path they take, alter events and other characters subtly so you still get to that big reveal, just a slightly different way.

So if you come to this point where your characters are acting all wrong, think about your options and then choose one. Or don't bother. You can always edit them back into character in December!

Inspiration - The Ocean

The ocean is an incredible natural wonder and one that has been a main part of many stories. Moby Dick, Treasure Island, Castaway, Swiss Family Robinson, and Island of the Sequined Love Nun all would have been quite different without the ocean. So think about the ocean and all its boundless possibilities and write!

Inspiration - Pay Attention

Okay, so I've said this before in different forms- read the news, eavesdrop, etc. But this is a really good idea. Just yesterday, I was talking to several other NaNo participants and one was stuck. Somebody (not me!) suggested reading the newspaper, not just the news but the "oddly enough" pages and I've heard people talk about reading the obituaries.

As for paying attention to the world around you, you could eavesdrop, or you could just look. That park that you walk by everyday could become an important setting for a scene. Or maybe that nice old lady in front of you in the supermarket morphs into your main character's grandmother. One of the other participants said she enjoys putting people she saw and heard on the train into her novel.

So pay attention. Who knows, maybe when you next go on a nacho run at three in the morning, you'll discover a setting, a character, and a plot.

Inspiration and NaNo Tip

You should be at 13336 by midnight tonight if you're doing NaNoWriMo. And guess what? I'm there already!

Tip: Make a word buffer. Seriously. If you know you're going to have a busy day or that you're going to feel unmotivated after a long day of work, try and make it up the day before or the week before. I personally rarely have time to write Monday through Wednesday but the rest of my week is pretty free. So instead of playing the catch-up game, take the initiative and get ahead! It feels awesome too.

Inspiration:

Plastic surgery. Write about it, have a character be obsessed with it, research it, find Heidi Pratt and do a piece on reality shows. :)

A Tip and Inspiration

10,002. Tonight, if you're caught up and exactly where you're supposed to be, you'll break into quadruple digits. This is the point that's always exciting to me, breaking that barrier. At least now, you have the number of digits you want.

And I caught up! At about 11:30 last night, I hit the 8400 mark. The power of write-ins and having a friend.

My tip for today: Find a friend to write with. This will inspire both of you. My friend and I kept going back and forth with who was inspired to write and this forced the other one to sit quietly and write as well. It was awesome. And I found out she's an awesome writer, better than me. I read her stuff and it was AMAZING. And inspiring. A small detail in her story gave me a great idea for mine and my praise of her work made her feel better and decide to keep going with NaNo even though she's epically behind. So yay! Everyone wins.

Inspiration: Alcohol. Not for you, but for your character. Everyone does stupid things when drunk. Maybe the villain will finally confess feelings or a crime. Maybe your main character will finally punch that one guy out who's been asking for it since the beginning. Even if it turns into nonsense, you tried something new and got some words down and that's what NaNoWriMo is all about.

Catching Up

You should be at 8335 words by midnight tonight.

I’m behind (big shocker), but I’m at about 6130 right now, and I still have more time to write tonight. I have an hour at a write-in for sure, so I’m aiming to get to 7.5k. That puts me very close to where I should be.

If you missed a day or slacked off for a day or changed your story idea and find yourself behind (or do this in the future), take baby steps. Write the required 1667 words for the day and then just a couple hundred more or however many you need to catch up. Aim to catch up within a week.

Give yourself a reward every time you get closer to catching up. I personally like wicked apple slurpies from 7-11. Maybe your incentive is an overpriced coffee drink that blows your calorie count. (It doesn‘t have to be food, that‘s just what I like. Maybe you like tv, or new books, or have had your eye on a fucking epic poster down the street).

So, remember: baby steps.

Starting Over

(This is yesterday's post. Issues made it impossible to post then. There will be another tonight)

6668 words is where you should be for NaNoWriMo.

I’m behind. Still. But, I now have a reason. Last night, I discarded all the words I had and started over. I’m at 3472 words in my new story, about the half the amount I need, but I’m confident I’ll catch up.

Today’s post is on starting over. Only ever do it if you really and truly hate everything or made a big mistake. I did- I hated my main character in two days flat. So I started over in the same world, with a very similar storyline, and some identical side characters. My main character is completely different.

Don’t be afraid to start over. Not everything you do is going to useable. However, I recommend against doing it if you usually have trouble finishing or if you’re far alone. I always used to do that. I was like, “Oh this is crap, make it go away.” I never finished anything. And then I did NaNoWriMo in 2007 and forced myself to write and keep writing and finished 50000 words of a novel. It was fabulous. The feeling mind you, not necessarily the writing.

Learn to differentiate between something that is truly crap and something that has potential. If you think in twelve revisions that your story might be good, keep going for it! If you think you’re staring down at the words, trying to find a way to kill of your main character and replace him, it may be time to start over.

NaNo Tips and Tricks

At midnight tonight, you should be at 5001 words. Are you there yet? I'm certainly not. I am currently at the grand total of 2394, a paltry number comparatively.  But I'll catch up though using these tools:

Dr. Wicked's Write or Die: This is definitely my favorite. You can do it online or buy the desktop version. You set time, word count, and difficulty level and then write, trying to hit your word count in the set time. However, this has an added twist- you stop typing, you're punished. Gentle and normal mode have sounds and flashing red lights. I personally set it to kamikaze. I stop typing, words begin deleting themselves. It makes you type and not stop, which is PERFECT for NaNoWriMo. Personally, I spend the 10$ to buy it and use it year round when I'm stuck. The desktop version comes with a hard to easy meter which determines how long you have to start typing again too and other cool stuff including a word war feature.


Word Wars: This can be against yourself or another person. You write as much as you can in a set amount of time. You try to beat your previous score, your opponent's score, or both. There are threads on the NaNoWriMo.org forums and in some other writer's forums, you can find a friend on facebook, use Dr. Wicked's Write or Die word war feature, or just sit across from someone and war. If you do it against yourself its even easier- just keep track of your scores.

Turn off your internet. Its distracting. Open up word or notepad or whatever program you use and just that program. Distractions are bad. They make you take longer. Worry about getting a fact just right in December.


Make yourself write. Some people will recommend you not do this while you have writer's block, but during November, go for it. Make yourself. It is the ONLY way you are going to get it done.

Accept that your novel is not going to be perfect. Rome was not built in a day.

Treat it like the competition that it is and set times to write everyday. Calculate your typing speed and then calculate how long you need to write 1667 words in a day. Set aside at least that amount of time and be prepared to spend twice that.

Carry around a notebook. Every time you have some free time, write. Bring it even when you don't think you'll need it. Murphy's law is inescapable.

NaNoWriMo.org: It has forums and you can sign up for e-mails of "pep talks." They really do help.

Write-ins: These are part of treating it like a contest. You get a set time surrounded by other writer's and a set time to write.

Tools
This site has even more tips and tricks.

And if you need more than that, you may be wasting time with your internet. Shut it down and write!

And if you have some crazy awesome methods, leave a comment!

NaNoWriMo has begun!

NaNoWriMo or National Novel Writing Month is a one month long event in which you challenge yourself to write 50000 words

So, NaNoWriMo has begun!

I'm participating in this fabulous event. I have "won" two years running, once with a fairytale spoof and once with an action/comedy/drama novel.

Now, for all of you whose first year this is, remember what you write will be CRAP. It's not going to be good. You're trying to write 50000 words in 30 days. Thats 1666 words a day, every day, plus twenty words at some point. And that's the minimum to win. Some have written 400,000 although its my belief that these people are generally unemployed, ignore their spell checker, and never look back even a single word. But that could be my jealousy speaking.

Whatever the case is, it's a great exercise for aspiring writers. It makes you get those words down and finish or nearly finish a story. It's also a great opportunity for networking. You'll meet tons and tons of aspiring writers if you attend write-ins*. And those are the first steps towards publishing.

If you get stuck, refer to my <a href="http://ransomnoteeffect.blogspot.com/2010/10/list-of-prompt-sites.html"> list of writing prompt sites</a> and my <a href="http://ransomnoteeffect.blogspot.com/2010/10/creative-block.html">list of ways to break your creative block. </a>

I'm going to compile a good list of tips and tricks to win at NaNoWriMo! Check back tomorrow.

*A write-in is an event where people get together and write as a group. It's an opportunity to be social and a time where all you do is write. They tend to happen in coffeehouses, bookstores, and cheap restaurants.