Tag: nanowrimo tips

How to Add to Your Word Count for NaNoWriMo Without Killing Your Plot

On By Kristina Van HooseIn NaNoWriMo, Writing5 Comments

For National Novel Writing Month, participants need to write 50,000 words in order to win. The prizes include a certificate you can print, bragging rights, and some offers from the various sponsors like Scrivener and CreateSpace.

In the seven years that I’ve been a participant, I’ve seen all sorts of strategies. Sure, there are the rebels who work on multiple stories, master theses and other non-novel work. However, there are some more dubious tricks that I’ve read about.

Having your character start singing an entire broadway musical, reciting recipes, or giving all your characters super long names with just one difference (e.g. Abe Braham Carter Day and Abe Braham Carter Ed) so that you have to refer to them by their full name, DO in fact increase word count. However, these sorts of methods have the tendency to derail your story. After you get through the final act of that musical, where will you from there?

People use these types of “plot devices” as a way to get their 50K. They’ve hit a dead end in their plot, and instead of hunting “plot bunnies,” they do what they can to just add words. The problem with these methods is that they don’t help your plot at all. Instead, they add meaningless words and help keep a true plot at bay.

To me, it’s the same as getting a large cat. Those plot bunnies aren’t going to come your way if they see a big cat on your front step just like ideas aren’t going to come if you keep resorting to meaningless word count methods.

come-here-plot-bunny
I see you there delicious looking plot bunny.

Now, just to clarify, I am not saying you can’t use some of the dares in your novel. Some of them are helpful and will add plot and conflict to your novel. Lyrics and recipes generally do not.

I already mentioned a few strategies in my last post, and actually a couple here are duplicates because they’re great strategies.

With that in mind, here are a few strategies you can resort to when push comes to shove, and your plot bunnies are avoiding you as if you had Swine Flu.

1. Mini-Excursions
This is when your characters take a break from the main plot to pursue something else. Then, once that subplot is revolved, they go back to the main plot and continue on with their day.

For example, they can be walking down the road in search of the Powerful Deadly Overlord of Cheese and end up seeing something shiny in the bushes. Intrigued, they investigate and find a set of keys. Now, being the heroes they are, they decide to find the rightful owners of the keys, because of course keys are always important. Once they find the owner, they can go back to searching for the Powerful Deadly Overlord of Cheese. Perhaps they even get an award that will later be of value.

2. Have a fight
Now, there might already be a fight planned for the end. It’s usually between the antagonist and the protagonist. However, there are other fights.

  • A fight between your MC (main character) and his/her love interest?
  • A fight between the MC and his/her best friend.
  • A disagreement between your MC and his/her horse.
  • Maybe there’s danger ahead and your MC is too stupid to realize it.
  • Maybe someone actually gets (Swine) Flu
  • Or there’s the all favorite, “we were quietly minding our own business when a group of bandits jumped out of the bushes.”

Conflict moves a story forward, so don’t be afraid to resort to a little violence.

3. Throw a party

have-a-party
Let’s party like it’s 1979!

Parties make people mingle. It is a great way to introduce a new character or even a great way to hear the latest gossip. Maybe your MC goes to the party in hopes of finding information about the antagonist. And, if you’re really struggling, you can always have a party turn into a fight.

4. Switch characters

Write a chapter from a different character’s point of view. (Bonus tip: this works well when dealing with fights and some conflict because you can see both sides)

Jump over to your MC’s best friend or even a minor character. Sometimes you’ll find a different character can tell the story better. Perhaps you’ll realize you chose the wrong MC. Or perhaps you’ll get an insight on an event that you wouldn’t have thought about before.

Write from the antagonist’s point of view. Seeing the story from their side will help you understand their motivation better and help you gain sympathy for him or her. Or it. A sympathetic villain is a more powerful one in my opinion. No one likes the “Mr. Gloom and Doom with a PHD in Taking Over the Universe Because He’s Bored” sort of villain. They’re too flat.

Completely stuck? Write a previous scene with a different outcome. Where does the story take you now?

5. Remember, remember, the 5th of November, the Gun Powder Treason and plot…

I want to watch V for Vendetta now, but let's wait until December, eh?
Guy Fawkes Mask

On many NaNo calendars, you’ll note that the 5th of November has “Blow something up” in honor of Guy Fawkes day. If your world or story has gunpowder, blow something up. If it doesn’t, plan some other sort of natural disaster or terrorist plan or homicide. Mass murders and disaster tend to bring people together – and drive people apart due to differing opinions.

6. Flashbacks.
Flashbacks offer a look into your character’s history as well as the history of the life and culture around him or her. Sometimes, flashbacks can even help you untangle your thoughts and discover plots.

7. Recapping
Admit it. There are a lot of characters out there with the sole purpose of recapping. I tend to think of Dumbledore on this one from Harry Potter. They are often considered cliché, but hey, this is NaNo! And, it’s a rough draft.

Go ahead. Have a character recap some of the things that have happened so far. I will caution you though. Don’t go back to look through the story. Reading what you have already written tends to make the inner editor come out. It also tends to make you lose self-confidence. Write about what you recall. It’ll be more accurate that way too. No character, unless they have a photographic memory, is going to remember everything that’s happened. Feel free to have other characters fill in the gaps as you recall them later.

8. Kill someone off
Death moves the plot forward … or at least, for those who live. A death of someone close to the MC can really impact him or her. Have your MC go through the stages of grief, from denial to acceptance. Have a funeral. Throw in some cultural beliefs and funeral preparations/traditions. Maybe your MC’s species or race or group don’t believe in burial. Maybe they don’t believe in an afterlife. This can be really helpful if you decide you don’t like your MC or if you realize your minor character really ought to be your MC. Kill him or her off and start writing from another character’s perspective.

If you decide later on that you need that character, you can always bring them back.

From
Zombie anyone?

9. Take a dare or adopt something from the NaNo forums.
Go to the NaNo forum. Pick up a dare and run with it. Or visit the adoptables forum and find something that needs a new, loving home in your novel. You know, unless you decide to kill it. Hopefully it was loved until then at least.

Do NOT spend forever choosing a dare or adoptable though. The forums have been known to consume many a writer during the month of November.

In Closing
As you can see, there are lots of things you can resort to when the plot well is running dry that can help keep you moving. Don’t get scared when the story seems to be going nowhere. It happens. Just keep pushing forward and you’ll find something to work with eventually.

Sometimes placing yourself in the story helps too. Have your character argue with you a bit. Get to know your character a little more. And keep going. Yes, the best thing in NaNo is to just keep going.

If worse comes to worse, and you absolutely cannot think of anything using these methods, ask for help from the other writers. Twitter is wonderful for this as is the forums. The NaNoWriMo community is one of the kindest online communities out there. There is bound to be someone who can help you out.

Your Turn

What tips or strategies would you add to this list?  If you’re working on a writing project, how is it going?

Can’t comment here? Feel free to continue the conversation onTwitter or Facebook with me!

What to do When You Get Stuck During NaNoWriMo

On By Kristina Van HooseIn NaNoWriMo, Writing2 Comments

Tuesday was a pretty dismal day for writing. I only managed 700-something words, which was atrocious compared to the previous two days. I ran into the problem because I a) left off in an uneventful moment rather than an action infused one, b) did not do much world building before beginning this project, and c) still needed to figure out an important conflict between the main character and his brother.

Those 700-something words came at a struggle. We’re talking a several painstaking hours to get them instead of the 45 minutes it usually takes.

While it is always frustrating, it is even more so during National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) or when you have any sort of deadline.

So what do you do?

Faced with that experience you might be tempted to panic and bang your head against the wall, your desk, and your computer before throwing said computer across the room and swear never to write again.

Like this guy. He looks like he's had better days.
Like this guy. He looks like he’s had better days. (From Pixabay)

However, that would be sad because you would never finish your story.

I suppose since the experience is fresh in my mind, I can explain what I did on the offhand chance it helps you get those plot wheels back in motion. So here we go!

Option 1: Write Out Your Thoughts and Options, AKA Brainstorm in Writing

Try to work out your problem with words so that you can still count them and still be making headway in your novel. I summed up what had happened so far without going back to read.

I knew it was time to problem solve, so I started typing to myself in the middle of my document, though I’ve used other documents too for this purpose in the past.

You’re probably thinking, “But what do you write when you’re stuck though? If I had something to write down, I would have by now!”

Well, you write to yourself. I ended up writing down everything I was thinking. No, no, not the “Oh my goodness this novel is terrible! Why did I sign up for this? Why did I start this project?”

No, no! None of that belongs there. Those words must not be said nor written. They are an evil beast waiting to sink its teeth into you until you begin believing those words. After that, there is little hope left as a writer. You might as well find another career or find a support group to help you overcome that. Then you should probably get vaccinated in case it had rabies or worse – left you with self-doubt that presents itself as flashbacks to those horrible words forever ingrained in your mind.

So no. Don’t write anything negative. Instead, we’re problem solving, so anything relating to the problem is allowed.

For me, it started like this:

Ok so, we have a story of a shapeshifter. His name is Kaleb. Caleb? I like the K but I don’t know. He meets a human with witch powers named Anne (Annali?). She wants to find her family because she’s been separated after other humans tried to kill them all in fear for their lives because one of her own started to kill humans for their souls.

I know. That’s pretty cringeworthy, but it’s what I came up with when I was writing to myself. Did I ever tell you I can be extremely wordy? Oh wait, you probably figured that out by reading my blog. I suppose that’s why I can get to 50k so easily.

Anywho, moving on…

I continued talking to myself via writing (and totally counting the words mind you!) until I got tired. I had a few possible directions to head towards, so I decided to sleep on it. At that point, there really is not point in staying up and beating your head against the desk anymore. Sometimes, the mind really just needs a break.

I woke up the next day (after thinking all night about it too. It was literally my last thought) and jotted down more ideas. I did a little research too since my main dilemma was that I hadn’t done any research or world building in the beginning.

This novel idea was a very late one, so I had no idea what to expect from it. It was the one I was most excited about writing though, so I went with it rather than the one I did more planning for.

I ended up writing down some hand written notes because sometimes it helps me connect better since it is a bit more tangible.

That’s one strategy, but what if it doesn’t work?

Option 2: Start a new scene with a conflict

The next best thing is to just start a new scene with some sort of conflict. It doesn’t matter what the conflict is. Just let your characters deal with it. See how they react. Even if it is a scene that is later deleted, you will gain some insight into how your characters operate.

There are all sorts of conflicts. Think about fights you’ve had with others. What started it? Look at the news. What sort of things have led to conflict between individuals? Countries? Communities?

It can be something as tiny as your main character never gave back their best friend’s shirt and now it’s missing or ruined or the antagonist peed on it. Okay, so that might be a little strange. Unless your antagonist is a dog.

Option 3: Do Some Mundane, Physical Task

Take a walk. Take a shower. Do the laundry. Vacuum. What other chore have you been procrastinating on in order to write? Take fifteen minutes and do them now. Remember, it is best if it is physical and it doesn’t involve using your brainpower. TV watching or any other screen involved activity is a no go for this one.

While you’re on autopilot, your brain can start wandering. It might just discover an idea.

And because you’re doing something physical, you’ll be getting some much needed exercise away from your computer.

Back to My Story

After brainstorming through writing (option 1), I found some mundane, physical tasks to accomplish (option 2) like walking around, playing with my cat, taking a shower, and playing fetch with the dog.

I eventually introduced a new character by coming up with my main character’s family members and their stories, which also provided some conflict (option 2). All of that ended up bringing me to a new scene with conflict (option 2), which helped me gain another 3,000 or so words.

In the end, it worked for me. There is still a lot of research I need to do. I gave myself some time to satisfy my curiosity and inner editor enough to understand how some genetics work out in my world, and then I made myself write.

Sometimes in the end, telling yourself to write anything that comes to mind is the only thing we can do. Creativity will never come when you call it. You have to go out in search of it.

If you’re stuck, give these strategies a try. If they don’t work, try reaching out in the NaNoWriMo forums, on Twitter, or here in the comments. Someone is bound to have a solution for you.

And stay tuned for Monday where I give a few more strategies to add to your word count without killing your plot, which is especially important when week 2 starts.

Your Turn

What do you do when your stuck on a project? It doesn’t even have to be a writing project. If you’re working on a writing project, how is it going?

Can’t comment here? Feel free to continue the conversation onTwitter or Facebook with me!