Katherine wrote on our NaperWriMo blog about her preparation for this year's NaNo. How are your preparations coming along? We still have a few weeks until November 1st, so there is still time to prepare if you haven't started yet; but with our next prep session coming along next weekend (October 18th, Panera Bread, 2-4 pm), it is good to be putting some thought into your novel.
- Can you summarize your story in 1-3 sentences?
- Have you identified the 8-12 key linch-pin scenes in your novel?
- Do you have brief sketches of each of your main characters?
- Have you identified some themes in your novel?
- Are you following the traditional three act structure? What are the key plot lines?
Share with us some of your preparations...
For myself, I'm once again using Freemind to plan out my novel. Here are some snapshots of two mindmaps I have created:
The overall plot is about 70% complete (still need to find a way to resolve things nicely within the developing framework of how magic works and what constraints exist). I expect I have about 70% of the characters sketched out (very roughly).
Coming up with names is difficult. I find myself drawn to names that start with the same sounds (a no-no); and I really hate fantasy novels that have names that do not have any kind of plausible etymology...
--Tim
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Tim Yao aka NewMexicoKid
co-ML, Illinois::Naperville
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50,638 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2008 - 18 17
Planning? What's that? :)
28,898 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2008 - 20 39
all I have to say is..... "uh oh....."!!
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Oct 12, 2008 - 21 53
I'm using yWriter and making scene/chapter notes. It's KILLING me not to start on the actual writing!! Normally I wouldn't even think of outlining, but I figure this is an instance that calls for it!
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Oct 13, 2008 - 07 15
I've started using Freemind this year, too, and it really helps me grease the wheels so far. Most of my planning is on scraps of paper taped all over my office wall, though. lol I essentially turn the walls into giant mind maps for my projects. There's just something more solid about having it hardcopy in the semi-organized format my mind actually stores things. ;) I'll see about getting a pic up once the bulk of the novel is up. I'm sure you'd all get a kick out of it.
As for character names, I have a couple methods that might help. 1) If I have a good feel for the character's personality and ethnic background I look on one of those meanings of names websites. I pick something of the correct ethnicity that means something significant to the character's personality or role within the story. 2) When all else fails, I go through my CD collection. Inside the covers are lists of TONS of people that helped put them together. I pick a first name from one person, and a last from another. lol There are always a bunch of really interesting names I never would have thought of, and are obscure enough I might not have even found through other search methods.
----------- Svecica
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Oct 14, 2008 - 10 10
Yikes! I'm in for a rude awakening! Looking forward to meeting everyone on Saturday! I'll be bringing my son (David is 9 and very excited to participate in NaNo)
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http://www.writelikeCRAZY.wordpress.com
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Oct 18, 2008 - 19 37
I have the initial premise for my three main characters plotted out. I know where they start, the main things they'll do, and in fair detail how the story will end. Some of the middle stuff is a bit fuzzy.
I've also done a lot of mapping out of secondary characters they interact with. I've got names assigned, and hope to have quirks, agendas and sub-plots prepared before the first.
Recently I've been preparing notions for start of chapter quotes, and background stuff for world building. I want to build an entire futuristic culture that dystopian in some pretty specific ways, so I'll need to have characters reference a lot of fictional books, movies, games, tv shows, technology, religions, political figures, world events, constructions, slang and other things so it feels credible.
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Oct 25, 2008 - 05 25
Last year I knew nothing about my novel except I knew what the first scene would be (what do you do if you're forty miles above the Earth and the space plane you're riding in ceases to exist). I had no idea what would happen after my main characters hit the ground, so to speak, but I trusted that I would come up with something. And I did. New characters showed up without telling me if they were friend or foe, but I got them sorted out without too much difficulty. If I didn't know where to send my characters next, I let them tell me, and it always worked out. Going into the last week of November, I suddenly saw where all this was leading, and I came up with a very satisfying ending.
So forgive me if I sneer at notes and mindmaps and preparation software and so on. I'm going into this year's novel blind -- I don't even have a good first scene worked out yet -- but I do have a group of interesting characters from the last two years' novels, and I'm prepared to be amazed by whatever story they end up telling me.