I'm starting to realise that there are two factions of Nanorimo participants. Those who spent some time trying to plan out their stories and sticking to a set plot that they create, and those that decide to just define their characters, without a plot and let them write the story as it goes.
Which one are you? What is most effective for you especially if you've done nano before?
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"The world didn't end with a whimper. It ended in a sea of screams, blood and torn flesh. It would have been delicious if it wasn't so sickening."
- Excerpt from "The Bloody Long Walk" (NaNoWriMo 2009)
50,839 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 17 28
I'm in the second group. I love how my characters decide where they want to go and I let them take me. There was even one year when a character showed up before 1 November and insisted - no, demanded - that I include her in that year's NaNovel. And so I did. It was one of the best things I did.
----------Chet's NaNoWriMo Experience (updated)
50,314 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 19 24
I generally only start out with the opening of the novel, and the end if I'm inspired. However, for the past two years, my characters have insisted on taking the long way around, so I despair at ever reaching the end of the story. On a good note though, they've given me plenty to work with. On a despairing note, the ending is sitting there all forlorn while my characters run around happily.
This year will foresee me fighting with my muses to reach the end (I'm adamant we finish the story in a trilogy. They're just whistling in defiance).
Muses. They drive me insane.
50,839 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 19 37
I can hear them sniggering from where I am, Naoko. Oh, and I can see the knowing looks they're giving one another.
----------Chet's NaNoWriMo Experience (updated)
34,888 / 50,000
Oct 11, 2009 - 20 25
No plot for me, please and thank you. :D The last time I plotted my story, it died within a matter of days. This year, i'm just going to tie myself to an interesting character and be dragged around. We'll see what happens.
50,314 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 00 03
Aaaaa no don't encourage them chet!
...
Damnit! Now I can see them sniggering at me.
*goes chain self to compy*
4,404 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 22 16
Concept yes, plot no. I often have general themes I have in mind that will be included, but I don't have a strict plot to follow. I realise after years of writing, it is often better to have themes instead of forcing myself to adhere to a plot.
But it's a good question asked. Seems like most of us write free-flow; pretty interesting as quite a number of people I know write with almost a solid-plot in head.
----------maybe the children of a lesser god between heaven and hell
50,314 / 50,000
Oct 12, 2009 - 22 40
That's kinda odd, cause most people I know write free flow. I find that writing to a solid plot works well for 20k words, then everything falls to pieces. General themes like what heinrichfrei mentioned is what keeps me sane.
46,821 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 01 22
I just have the characters and a plot summary. I can start out just like that, regardless of length.
----------http://murazrai.xanga.com and http://cyber-murazrai.xanga.com
Chaos Fighters...the fantasy of scientific magic.
NaNoWriMo 2009: Chaos Fighters II-Cyberion Strike
Read the novel (starting November 1) at:
http://murazrai-for-nanowrimo.xanga.com
47,012 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 02 31
I need my plots, generally because I suck at finding a way to end a story. So at least if I detailed the chapters and characters pretty well, I'll have a fighting chance to finish this in good time.
----------"The world didn't end with a whimper. It ended in a sea of screams, blood and torn flesh. It would have been delicious if it wasn't so sickening."
- Excerpt from "The Bloody Long Walk" (NaNoWriMo 2009)
50,839 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 02 37
*confession time*
After all these years, I still don't know what's plot. What is it??
----------Chet's NaNoWriMo Experience (updated)
0 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 03 45
@chet-a-box A plot is a storyline... Basically, the structure of the story.
Example:
Boy meets girl -> boy kiss girl -> girl cheated -> boy feels sad -> boy kill girl -> The End.
People get distracted mid-way because then they start thinking "What if the girl didn't cheat but they got married instead" and they go crazy because their muse decides to start throwing different options and they have to change the whole story.
I'm not doing a plot. I'm creating my characters and just write. All I know is that my ending will be tragic and morbid and possibly with a cliffhanger.
----------I WRITE NOMS!
4,404 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 15 03
Naoko, perhaps we hang out with different circles of people. ;) Most of the people I know tend to have their plot planned down to every dot, all fleshed out in details that if you ask them to tell you the story they could do so verbally, show you their plot, and they would rather insist that they have their plot or else they will not write at all. Heh!
----------maybe the children of a lesser god between heaven and hell
50,552 / 50,000
Oct 13, 2009 - 19 18
No plot. I don't stick to it in the end, so I decided to go without a plot.
50,839 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2009 - 21 21
Example:
Boy meets girl -> boy kiss girl -> girl cheated -> boy feels sad -> boy kill girl -> The End.
People get distracted mid-way because then they start thinking "What if the girl didn't cheat but they got married instead" and they go crazy because their muse decides to start throwing different options and they have to change the whole story.
I'm not doing a plot. I'm creating my characters and just write. All I know is that my ending will be tragic and morbid and possibly with a cliffhanger.
Good example, altho a little simplistic. It's your following paragraph that's interesting. Especially the phrase "what if"?
What if?
What if this or that happens and the story is thrown off-track, and then struggles to get back on track? And the writer starts plotting on where to throw in such "what if" situations - that's a plot. The result of all that plotting? That's the story that ends up on the page!
From what I know, a novel usually involves a quest of some sort. How the hero goes after the quest, how he's prevented from achieving his quest ... again, plotting's involved.
Now, taking your original "plot", what if we were to amend it this way:
Boy meets girl -> boy kisses girl -> boy falls for girl -> girl cheats on boy -> boy determines to win her over -> girl still rejects boy -> boy will not give up -> after more rejections and after more attempts and stronger determination (maybe girl needs help and boy helps her), boy finally convinces girl and wins her over -> The End
----------Chet's NaNoWriMo Experience (updated)
72,926 / 50,000
Oct 15, 2009 - 06 13
Depending on how invested I am in the novel, I either have a general set of scenes (subject to change) or a general outline for NaNo. I can't do detailed outlines for NaNo. If it's a detailed outline, then I get too invested. It's very difficult to cut loose then.
---------------------
Jha, Municipal Liaison
Canada :: Nova Scotia :: Halifax Regional Municipality
(Yes, Bedford, Dartmouth, Sackville and all other satellite places, we're here to take care of you too!)
Follow us! https://twitter.com/HaNoWriMoNS
0 / 50,000
Oct 17, 2009 - 00 36
Example:
Boy meets girl -> boy kiss girl -> girl cheated -> boy feels sad -> boy kill girl -> The End.
People get distracted mid-way because then they start thinking "What if the girl didn't cheat but they got married instead" and they go crazy because their muse decides to start throwing different options and they have to change the whole story.
I'm not doing a plot. I'm creating my characters and just write. All I know is that my ending will be tragic and morbid and possibly with a cliffhanger.
Good example, altho a little simplistic. It's your following paragraph that's interesting. Especially the phrase "what if"?
What if?
What if this or that happens and the story is thrown off-track, and then struggles to get back on track? And the writer starts plotting on where to throw in such "what if" situations - that's a plot. The result of all that plotting? That's the story that ends up on the page!
From what I know, a novel usually involves a quest of some sort. How the hero goes after the quest, how he's prevented from achieving his quest ... again, plotting's involved.
Now, taking your original "plot", what if we were to amend it this way:
Boy meets girl -> boy kisses girl -> boy falls for girl -> girl cheats on boy -> boy determines to win her over -> girl still rejects boy -> boy will not give up -> after more rejections and after more attempts and stronger determination (maybe girl needs help and boy helps her), boy finally convinces girl and wins her over -> The End
Example:
Boy meets girl -> boy kiss girl -> girl cheated -> boy feels sad -> boy kill girl -> The End.
People get distracted mid-way because then they start thinking "What if the girl didn't cheat but they got married instead" and they go crazy because their muse decides to start throwing different options and they have to change the whole story.
I'm not doing a plot. I'm creating my characters and just write. All I know is that my ending will be tragic and morbid and possibly with a cliffhanger.
Good example, altho a little simplistic. It's your following paragraph that's interesting. Especially the phrase "what if"?
What if?
What if this or that happens and the story is thrown off-track, and then struggles to get back on track? And the writer starts plotting on where to throw in such "what if" situations - that's a plot. The result of all that plotting? That's the story that ends up on the page!
From what I know, a novel usually involves a quest of some sort. How the hero goes after the quest, how he's prevented from achieving his quest ... again, plotting's involved.
Now, taking your original "plot", what if we were to amend it this way:
Boy meets girl -> boy kisses girl -> boy falls for girl -> girl cheats on boy -> boy determines to win her over -> girl still rejects boy -> boy will not give up -> after more rejections and after more attempts and stronger determination (maybe girl needs help and boy helps her), boy finally convinces girl and wins her over -> The End
Ah, so you do know what a plot is. Well done! Yes, I only gave an "simple plot" because you said you did not know what plot was. Obviously,a plot is involved in all novels and I agree with the fact that a novel involves a quest and a little conflict.
But the question in this forum is not about a plot or plotting but it's a question asking whether or not we're all following strictly on a pre-planned story outline or are we just letting our imagination flow as we write the story. There's no right or wrong way of doing it, of course. Whichever is the most comfortable.
Obviously, by the end of November, everyone will have a plot of some sort in their end-product. I choose not to have a pre-determined storyline for now because I want to keep my options open but doesn't mean I'm going to write a story without a beginning/conflict/climax/ending.
----------I WRITE NOMS!
47,012 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 02 57
But the question in this forum is not about a plot or plotting but it's a question asking whether or not we're all following strictly on a pre-planned story outline or are we just letting our imagination flow as we write the story. There's no right or wrong way of doing it, of course. Whichever is the most comfortable.
Yeah, that's my original question. Some of us just like to go with the flow while some people like myself needs to plan. It's a style of writing. Though I often wonder, people who write a series of books would definitely have a plot in mind as they write wouldn't they?
Unless it's those series of books that seems to go on forever. I have a love/hate relationship with those kind of books especially if the series is pretty decent to begin with.
----------"The world didn't end with a whimper. It ended in a sea of screams, blood and torn flesh. It would have been delicious if it wasn't so sickening."
- Excerpt from "The Bloody Long Walk" (NaNoWriMo 2009)
2,060 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 11 01
Well, for the past 2 Nano I stuck to the plot created and Naoko's write about the 20k thing. Around that (or less), I'll start having a major writer's block and usually don't recover until the end of Nano, no matter what I do and no matter how many advices I've sought.
So this year, I'm gonna head into Nano armed only with my characters and roughly how I want the story to go. The rest of it I'll let my characters decide.
50,314 / 50,000
Oct 19, 2009 - 21 27
*Waves at Blueberry_jam*
Hi, welcome to the hole. I've been doing that for the past 2 years and while it's allowed me to win Nano those years, I'm STILL fighting with them on how to end.
Yes, this should be fun MUAHAAH *evil laugh and gets hit by bricks*
9,665 / 50,000
Oct 28, 2009 - 03 41
I have never stuck with a plot before, but I always have a general idea in mind.
Example, before I start the novel, I'll ask myself 'What do I want my protagonist to learn or achieve by the end of this?' and when I do come up with an answer, I'll always keep that answer in mind while I'm writing, so that I don't go off track.
Another tactic of mine is to set the beginning, set the ending, then let my characters decide what's to happen in the big portion that's gonna make up everything in between. Oftentimes I'll change the ending if my characters have made so many twists that the original ending doesn't apply anymore.
0 / 50,000
Oct 29, 2009 - 22 30
I always have a plot in mind, with characters and settings and even an ending somewhere in there.
Then on Nov 1, it all goes to hell, and I start from scratch, and make it up as I go along.
Probably why I tend to quit by the 10k mark. Heh.
397 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 11 50
Well, my first year doing NaNo. I've found however that if I try to plot a story to death, stake out all the details-- it never does get finished or written. So I'm going with a few characters, concepts, a direction to head in and the most basic of plots.
794 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 03 20
No plot for me. Just a general idea. But even that is open for change as my mood goes. I tried with a set plot, but it didn't work out well enough. Got too uhm distracted along the way.
3,423 / 50,000
Nov 2, 2009 - 13 38
Plot definitely. I usually flesh out the story I want in an outline and then imagine how they feel and write from there.. It's easier than throwing myself to one character and letting it drag me along because it usually end up with me being dragged to nowhere with no ending in sight.
35,025 / 50,000
Nov 3, 2009 - 02 05
Wow I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't really have a plot. I realized that when I did have a plot, writer's block set in far too quickly and the plot and numerous researches got mundane and killed the story... So this year, nope, no plot...
43,592 / 50,000
Nov 13, 2009 - 23 51
I'm in the third group. XD I just get the start, the middle, and the end, and let my muses spin whatever they can in between, without any thoughts on characters or whatnot. It's kinda holey, but it's worked for me so far - the story compacts together soon enough.. but that's probably because my muses are amazing :) -hugs muses-
----------I'm not a complete idiot. Some important parts are just missing
(Zack Fair, FFVII fanfiction 'Mr. Funny')