The Lewis County Writers Guild, which formed last year after Nano, will present a workshop on how to plan a novel Friday, October 16, at 6 p.m. at the Matrix in Chehalis.
I'll briefly cover several methods of structure, including a couple of quick-and-dirty options that even Pantsers* shouldn't find too constrictive. If nothing else, it'll give you some tools to use when you get to a dead-end in November and still have 1,000 words to write to make your daily quota.
This is the official Writers Guild meeting for the month, so as always doors open at 5 p.m., and you're invited to bring a short piece of prose or poetry to read at Open Mic following the meeting. There is no charge, of course.
Hope to see there! This is a great place to channel that Can't-wait-for-November-first energy!
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Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
31,606 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2009 - 16 03
Awesome!! I hope I can make it! That info you gave last year has proven invaluable.
----------50,033 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 17 06
Some of us secretly refer to Katrina as the Writing Goddess and Mistress of Plot Mastery. She knows her stuff. I'll definitely be there because I need all the help I can get in the plotting department.
25,987 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 17 36
If I can, I'll be there...(have conference the next day)...if you are new to nano...Katrina has awesome hints...she has already helped me for this year with one of her posts. (She said we can work on character development before Nov. 1.
I started by thinking...what is "character development"...pretty soon I started describing my characters...and found...it's a blast...now the girl hiding under the stairs has so much more personality (you'd have to reaad the story!!!)...thanks Katrina!
----------Jo's Lines aka Joanna S.
18,971 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 18 34
I should be there...for an hour or so, anyway. I'll make sure my mother comes, too. I'm excited to see you all there.
----------L
46,111 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 15 04
Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah, and I put your check in the mail.
I love "Mistress of Plot Mastery." Think I can fit that on a license plate?
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
46,111 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 15 13
I started by thinking...what is "character development"...pretty soon I started describing my characters...and found...it's a blast...now the girl hiding under the stairs has so much more personality (you'd have to reaad the story!!!)...thanks Katrina!
You're welcome! How easy was that?!
I'm going to bring my characterization worksheets to the Plotting Workshop. I find the best planning I can do is character development. Sometimes I write as much as ten pages (single-spaced) on a main character before I even start writing the novel or even thinking about plot, and three to five pages on supporting characters.
And even Pantsers* are usually comfortable doing character development -- especially if it's freewriting long stream-of-consciousness paragraphs.
*Re, Pantsers. Weird! I had a footnote on my message above, and it has disappeared. I must have accidentally deleted it when I deleted the double post of my signature that Nano adds every time I quote someone. I had added, "Pantsers like to fly by the seat of their pants without planning anything, while Plotters can be a little OCD about pre-deciding every little detail." Can you tell I prefer a spot somewhere in the middle? Actually, I'm a closet Plotter who just never manages to get it done before November 1 rolls around, so I end up Pantsing.
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
36,672 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 21 00
I think I'll try to get there for this. :) I'm kinda shy and new to this whole thing, so I'll be the gal huddled in a corner looking slightly frightened. Hehe, just kidding. ;)
ETA: Pantsing + Plotting = Plotzing? :D
46,111 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 06 23
ETA: Pantsing + Plotting = Plotzing? :D
ROFL! Plotzing! I love it! I've finally found my niche: I'm a Plotzer.
Tara, we've all been the one huddled in the corner at one time or another. Writers tend to be funny birds, and some of us are toeing the line between normal and neurotic.
Or maybe it's just me.
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
35,370 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 11 09
I'm so far away from normal that I didn't even know there was a line.
18 days, 11 hours, and 52 minutes until NaNo
39,011 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 12 26
Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah, and I put your check in the mail.
I love "Mistress of Plot Mastery." Think I can fit that on a license plate?
"When people ask me why I write about other worlds when I'm living in the real world right now, I ask them one simple question.
Who is to say that the world we live in right now is the real one?"
Hey! It does fit! Check it out!
----------http://sarthou.deviantart.com/art/License-Plate-140174610
"When people ask me why I write about other worlds when I'm living in the real world right now, I ask them one simple question.
Who is to say that the world we live in right now is the real one?"
46,787 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 13 23
So, about how long do you think this workshop will last? I am dying to come and help fill the corners of the room with my shy newbieness as well. The only trouble is I'll have to hire a babysitter to make it happen. Hmmm... I wonder if there is a boarding school I could ship the kids off to for the month of November...
k thx bai!
Amy
18,627 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 14 13
I'm so far away from normal that I didn't even know there was a line.
18 days, 11 hours, and 52 minutes until NaNo
What??? you mean I am the only normal one here??? That's not normal, is it...
:P
39,011 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 15 35
I'm so far away from normal that I didn't even know there was a line.
18 days, 11 hours, and 52 minutes until NaNo
What??? you mean I am the only normal one here??? That's not normal, is it...
:P
"When people ask me why I write about other worlds when I'm living in the real world right now, I ask them one simple question.
Who is to say that the world we live in right now is the real one?"
Oh honey don't worry about it....there is no such thing as normal!!!
----------"When people ask me why I write about other worlds when I'm living in the real world right now, I ask them one simple question.
Who is to say that the world we live in right now is the real one?"
46,111 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 05 33
Hey! It does fit! Check it out!
http://sarthou.deviantart.com/art/License-Plate-140174610
Oh, yeah, baby! LOVE. IT.
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
46,111 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 05 46
k thx bai!
Amy
Two hours. We have to be done by 8 p.m. because that's when Open Mic begins. Of course, some of us hang around to share our fiction at Open Mic, so it's longer for us.
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
46,111 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 21 38
Oh, my gosh, you guys! I just finished writing up the handout for this workshop, and it is TO. DIE. FOR. Honestly, it has an incredible amount of information, presented (I hope) in a easy to follow manner.
I'm halfway through making an interactive, online version of it, with links to more information and books you can purchase, etc. I'll post a link to it after the workshop.
You don't want to miss the workshop itself though. We'll be walking through several of the methods together, so you'll get a much clearer idea of how they work.
What fun!
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
31,606 / 50,000
Oct 16, 2009 - 07 23
I won't be able to make it tonight! :( This is terrible! What a start to the Nano season!
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Oct 16, 2009 - 23 50
Workshop was great fun. Thanks for participating! Shall we draw straws for who is going to write the murder mystery where the bellydancer used a rattlesnake to shut up a clown, permanently? I just might call dibs on the one where the poor woman found her abusive ex-boyfriend dead in the truck of her car when she went to unload the groceries!
If you missed tonight, you missed out. We had a great time!
I've posted an online version of the handout (with links) below, so you can get much of the material there if you like. Hope this helps as you plan your novels! Remember, you can do all the planning and character development you want before Nov. 1, and it doesn't count against you.
Tools for Writers
----------Writing Fiction for Women & Other Human Beings
http://stonoff.com
36,672 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 15 01
Really wish I coulda made it last night, but after the storm rolled in, I decided I didn't wanna make my 40-minute drive home in the dark. D: Thanks for the link though!
31,606 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 16 01
My normally less-than-2-hour drive from Seattle last night was over 4 hours, thanks to the storm and multiple car accidents on I-5. It was a good night to not venture out.
Thanks, Katrina, for the great links and all the info -- Not quite as good as being at the workshop for those of us who missed it, but almost!! Thanks!
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