Did you know November is National Novel Writing Month?

This year writers from all walks of life will dedicate themselves to writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

NaNoWriMo.org

Sponsored by NaNoWriMo.org, National Novel Writing Month has been going on since 1999. This year I’m taking the plunge and participating in my first NaNoWriMo.

In preparation for NaNoWriMo, I’m taking several steps that I thought I’d share with you:

-Finish reading The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne

-Working step-by-step through NaNoWriMo.org’s preparation page (http://nanowrimo.org/nano-prep)

-Let my family know what I’m up to

-Get my social media on

-Touching base with local authors

-Jotting down some ideas

Let me break each of these down so you’ll get an idea of what it’s all about.

Finish Reading The Story Grid

Earlier this month I finished reading the book Story by Robert McKee.

Mr. McKee’s book is considered the seminal work on screenwriting. I believe it is indispensable to novel writers as well. Story is, without a doubt, the most valuable “nuts and bolts” book I’ve read.

I’d finished reading Story when I stumbled upon Steven Pressfield and the Foolscap Method of story outlining.

The Foolscap Method led to Shawn Coyne’s book, The Story Grid. What Robert McKee has done for screenwriters, Shawn Coyne and Steven Pressfield are doing for novelists.

Shawn has over 20 years of experience using The Story Grid.  Like Story, I believe The Story Grid will become the seminal book on writing and editing novels. I plan on putting The Foolscap Method and The Story Grid to the test writing my novel for NaNoWriMo next month.

Step-by-Step Through NaNoWriMo’s Prep Page

NaNoWriMo.org’s Prepartion Page is a cornucopia of hints, ideas, and just plain good advice for writers. I’m working my way through their suggestions even as I write.

Step 1 is Make a Commitment. I’ve let the world know I’m participating in NaNoWriMo through social media and by signing a pledge to complete the 50,000 words.

Step 2 is To Get Help From the Experts. That’s what I’m doing this afternoon by attending the webinar. I can also watch a previous webinar and take part in Tweet chats later in the month.

Step 3 is to Review NaNoWriMo’s Prep Resources. This step has us reading several articles on preparing for success. Other articles include: characters and backstory; setting and worldbuilding; and plot and content. The folks at NaNoWriMo have also published a couple of books to help me get started.

Step 4, Is complete: Make the Big Decision. I’ve made mine, I’m all in for the novel and I’m doing it as a Pantser, as in “seat of the pants”. I’ll start the month with no outline, and essentially no prep toward the novel, just a couple of ideas.

Step 5 is to Interact with the NaNoWriMo Community. I’ve joined the regional community and just posted my first forum input.

Letting My Family Know

This is probably the most important thing I can do to prepare for NaNoWriMo.

Letting family know serves several purposes. One is to let my family know what I’m up to to get some encouragement. The other purpose is to hold me accountable to them for my commitment.

If one does the math, to write 50,000 words in 30 days means writing an average of 1667 (I rounded up) words a day. I write about 800 to 900 words per thirty-three minute period.  The math tells me I need to commit about two hours per day, every day in November.

I need to commit to two hours per day I can let my family know I’ll be a bit busier in my non-eight to five job time than normal.

I’ll alert them to please heed the “Do Not Disturb” sign I have on my office door. If the door’s closed, the sign’s visible.

I’ll also let them know I plan to not only reward myself, but them for my commitment and their support. I’m thinking a nice dinner at the Boulder Dam Brewing Company would be nice.

Getting My Social Media On

This step follows along the same lines as letting the family know of my commitment to NaNoWriMo. I’ve announced my intentions on my social media pages. I hope to generate some good discussions about NaNoWriMo and but my writing aspirations.

It’s never too early to start building a following for that next novel!

Touching Base with Local Authors

Several years ago when I first started writing I joined a local writer’s club. It was nice having like-minded people to bounce ideas off of. It was nice to talk about some of the challenges of being a writer.

NaNoWriMo offers a page with local regions for participants.  My regional page includes municipal liaisons and a local calendar of events for NaNoWriMo.

Local events in my hometown include free novel writing seminars, kick-off parties and prep gatherings. I noticed our calendar includes a daily Open Writes or Write-in at one of the many libraries in town or at a local business establishment.

I’m looking forward to the encouragement and camaraderie of fellow writers!

Jot Down Ideas

As we get closer to the kickoff for NaNoWriMo I’m jotting down some ideas for my novel. Since this is my first NaNoWriMo I wanted to go in about as cold as one can when writing a novel.

What do I mean by ideas? Ideas for a novel. I use Evernote to keep track of novel ideas. Whenever I get a “what if” moment I add the idea to Evernote.

While I may not write out an outline, I would like to go into the month with:

1. An idea

2. A Foolscap page

Since every novel starts with an idea, a “what if” it only makes sense to start there. About the Foolscap page, as I mentioned I’m reading The Story Grid by Shawn Coyne. The Story Grid is actually a way to edit a novel. For planning a novel, Shawn uses The Foolscap Method, made famous by Steven Pressfield, author of The Legend of Bagger Vance.

The Foolscap Method give me an idea about Global Story of the novel I’m planning to write. It also gives me a good foundation about the three acts of my novel.

For more information on The Foolscap Method see Steven Pressfield’s website: http://www.stevenpressfield.com/free-stuff/

You’ll be glad you did!

So there you have it, what I plan to do to prepare for my first NaNoWriMo. I’ll keep you posted throughout the month on this blog to let you know how I’m doing.

Look for my updates each Monday morning.

And now it’s your turn. Are you planning on writing a novel in November for NaNoWriMo? If so, leave a comment so we can touch base with each other.

Have you thought about writing for NaNoWriMo but something’s holding you back? Again, leave a comment.

I appreciate any feedback you can give me.

Happy Writing!

KeithShafer

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Filed under: NaNoWriMo

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