triviageek

Help! I'm sooooo far behind in word count (3625) from where I should be today (above 8333). Argh!

Yet here are two quotes that say the way I began this novel writing challenge was ok.

From Charlene Teglia:

It’s not necessary to know every detail about a story before writing it, but it’s good to have some idea what will happen, how the characters will get from A to Z. If you can imagine the key scenes along the way, you have your plot outline. For some reason with this story I have a pretty complete plot outline, which is rare for me. Often I only have the basic situation defined and how it’ll be resolved is a mystery. Probably I have such a firm grip on this plot because it’s not a full-length novel. If you’re plunging into NaNoWriMo, don’t be dismayed if you don’t have a detailed plot outline. If you know who your characters are (or at least have some idea of what their driving characteristics are) and a basic situation in mind that puts them into conflict, the plot will naturally unfold as the result of the characters’ actions.

And from Angela Booth:

It's Day Five of NaNoWriMo.

I've written 8,500 words, and will write another 500 or so before I turn off the computer tonight.

So far, I haven't done much plotting or character development. This is enjoyable, because I'm getting to know the characters as I write.

My preplotting is minimal, but the plot is developing quietly, without much work from me. I've got the setup (the first quarter of the book), the mid-point (second turning point), the third-turning point and the black moment, but I'm missing the crisis and climax.

Not bad, since the book will run to 100K, and I've written less than a tenth of it. :-)

Both these writers must be much better at it than me. I'm still plotless and clueless.