Hi everyone, I'm a rookie nanoer this year. I finally decided to take the plunge and sign up. However, im kind of missing one thing...a plot. I do have an idea though. My MC is running away from someone who is after him. As you can see, VERY detailed. I don't know why he's running away or what would be big enough to cause him to run away and be chased across the nation/world. I'm beginning to wonder if this nano thing is going to work out. Every idea I think of seems to tell my brain...not good enough, need better ideas. Oh well, maybe one will hit me in the next couple of days. I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or is going thru what I am. Misery loves company, after all : ).
----------
When life gives you lemons, find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party!
50,085 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 18 00
Well the book is called "No plot, no problem." If you can afford it you should buy it, if not maybe you can get it from the library. It gives a step-by-step on nano, and it is terribly funny as well.
If you want to do nanowrimo than it is a good idea. I did it last year and it was fantastic. But I was there for it to be fantastic, if you are hoping for genius or brilliant prose this is the wrong place to be (well, it does occur at times, but fairly random and generally when you ought to have been doing something else).
As a note, I would say that if no one has posted on your other post you can delete it. Do so as doubles create clutter.
Anyway...questions help sometimes.
What does your mc look like? Is he well dressed? Rich? Poor? Is he carrying anything, luggage or a gun? Does he have any distinguishing features.
Can you see the one who is chasing him? Is it a man? Is it a group of people? Is it a giant killer ostrich that he painted orange wilst spying in peru?
Is this in the real world? Where is it located? I tend to think in fantasy so I was making assumptions, oops.
Does there have to be more than you have now? Why no simply write about the events that take place in his flight and trust serendipity to the rest?
And yes, I'm having this same problem...many people do. It is a lovely thing in your head, but that one thing that is fascinating and maybe only because you don't have the answer. Try to make the answer bigger than the question.
Why is he running? Clearly it is because he stole a priceless egg from the ring leader of the band were he used to be a tubaist.
Let me know if you have any questions.
----------Better to follow perfection day and year; better to learn from it quietly than to spring the trap or the fire a shot that frightens it away.
Nano2006: The flying ship (fantasy). Won.
Nano2007: A cure for magic (fantasy). Won.
121,006 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 18 31
Well, why should you need to plan out your plot a whole month in advance? Just relax with the plot-building, and let your subconscious come up with the details. At this point I'd just suggest doing character sketches or things like that to build your familiarity with your character(s), then when it gets closer to the 1st, then you should begin to seriously plan.
I've done nanowrimo two years and I've always gotten my idea less than a week before NaNo actually started--three days last time, and about six the year before--and I've won both years, so I wouldn't stress about it. :)
-------------
NaNo 2005: Lark's War (51k)
2006: The Passion of Resentment (50k)
2007: Cenotaph (finished! 121k)
2,032 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 19 34
Thank you for your input. And no, I don't plan on writing the next bestseller lol! I just really hope I can reach the goal. I think I'm going to take a step back from my plot concoctions for a while. However, I do have this awesome airport scene in my head that I hope remains until November 1. I think I'll take a week off or so and reread Brad Meltzgers THE ZERO GAME. I love his novels and he seems to keep the suspense moving continuously. And I might consider purchasing No Plot, No Problem as well.
----------When life gives you lemons, find someone whose life has given them vodka, and have a party!
50,085 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 23 16
Thank you for your input. And no, I don't plan on writing the next bestseller lol! I just really hope I can reach the goal.
Sorry, that was actually my sig line, there isn't a line there for some reason. Maybe I should report it, but you can put one in manually.
And I WAS going through the same, I made it work out and than bounced around happily, I think the figuring things out and bouncing around happily is probably my favourite part of novel writing.
----------Better to follow perfection day and year; better to learn from it quietly than to spring the trap or the fire a shot that frightens it away.
Nano2006: The flying ship (fantasy). Won.
Nano2007: A cure for magic (fantasy). Won.
24,487 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2007 - 23 37
I'd say maybe let your plot subconciously stew like someone else suggested earlier, but I'd like to add character development to your suggested to-do list. Since much of what is interesting in the world happens because of people, developing your characters gives them motivations, which should help you connect the dots a bit.
Personally, I'm going to take those random quizzes you find on places like DeviantArt and MySpace, only I'm going to answer them as my central characters, but there's dozens of other more structured character sheets you can use too.
Oh, and during November, I reccomend making a short list with the physical descriptions of all your characters. Unless you're taking a dare, there is little more embarrasing or confusing than getting partway through a scene only to realize that you can't remember what color eyes your MC has to save your life.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006: Emryana, 58K, 48% completion
2007: Sayonara, Sanity! (working title)