Email met at lysistratagirl@yahoo.com and I will send you back the attachments mentioned below. (Three Microsoft Word files)
Five fun things from the Topeka Nanowrimo goody bags!
1. Novel Emergency Matrix.doc
The Novel Emergency Matrix was created a few years ago by SarahJanet, the co-ML in Edmonton, Canada. Choose your most challenging emergency obstacles and see what advice it gives!
2. tracking device.doc
Helps you keep track of your progress with a 2007 November calendar and daily word count goals.
3. The Randomizer Novel Rescue Companion requires that you select the nature of your emergency and role a 6-sided die to identify your solution. BEWARE – two years ago I very publicly rolled a die at a write in and I had to add a talking animal to my chick-lit romance novel! By the time I figured out a way to work that in though, I have to admit that my plot was back on track!
It is available at: http://www.embereye.com/nanowrimo/RandomizerNovelRescue.pdf
4. Add your own package of M&Ms for this handy chart. When you are stuck, shake out a piece of candy and check your color on the chart. Try the suggestion to spice up your novel.
Novel-Saving, Word-Count Boosting, Character-Reinvigorating, Plot-Restoring, Colorfully Delicious Candies which melt into your plot, not in your hand.
If you choose ___, then try this advice to get un-stuck in your writing…
Blue- The new M&M color makes you want to do something new – add something new to your next scene, sending someone on an unexpected shopping spree, introduce a new character, or make something happen out of the blue!
Green- This scary M&M color means that in your next scene you should add deathly illness, pesticides, bug infestations, 24-hour-flu and all things gross and stomach churning!
Yellow- Yellow is the color of excitement, energy, electricity, or explosions. Whether it’s a bomb threat, sexual tension, or a terrible prediction, add some energy to your next scene.
Brown- For an M&M the color of dirt, go natural, add a scene in the outdoors with dirt, earth and rocks, or have the natural world attack your characters with a weather disaster.
Red- Red M&M’s go fast, so speed things up to get through the next scene and skip ahead to a week (or a day, or a year) in the future.
Orange- Orange is awesome and exotic. In your next scene, work in some travel for a character, bring in an out-of-the-ordinary person, or give a minor character a fake tan.
5. plot ninjas will save you.doc
Plot ninjas are a general term for anything that adds an element of interest to your plot and increases your word count. The term was coined a few years back by an enthusiastic nanowrimo writer who explained that if you are stuck, have NINJAS ATTACK. By the time your characters react to the attack, fight off the ninjas, and find out why they attacked in the first place and prevent future attacks, you will have several thousand more words and you will have hopefully advanced your plot and found a way to get back on track. Luckily for those of us NOT writing stories in which there might conceivably be ninjas, a plot ninja can actually be ANYTHING that you add to your story unexpectedly that adds an element of interest to your plot and increases your word count. A list of plot ninjas is available in the attachment. You can read through and pick one that appeals to you, or for a real challenge, print the page without looking and ask a friend to cut each idea apart so that you can draw one randomly from an envelope and surprise yourself with your plot’s newest twist!
Happy writing!
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Hooray! It's the most wonderful time of the year!
Topeka, KS ML since 2004
