November is National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. It's an entire month dedicated to writing, or, more specifically, to amassing fifty thousand words on an original novel. Last year, over 400,000 writers from around the world participated. The NaNo website helps you track your word count, provides regional support and chat boards, and allows you to "win" when you hit your 50,000-word goal. Every November, bookstores, coffee shops, and 24-hour diners fill up with writers - you can practically feel the creativity in the air! NaNo provides a great community, and it's a great motivation for starting or continuing a novel project. 2017 will be my seventh year tackling NaNo, and I can't wait to get started!
That said, there are a few ways to set yourself up in advance for NaNo success. We'll explore these each Thursday in October, so you'll be ready to hit the ground running on November 1st!
Today, let's talk about how to choose the novel project you'll be working on for NaNo. The NaNo rules specify that, to win, the 50,000 words must be on a brand-new novel. However, many people, self-described 'NaNo Rebels,' will do something different. They may write on a work-in-progress, or a non-fiction project, or revise 50,000 words on an existing draft. Assuming you choose the traditional route, and you don't have a story idea already in place, how do you decide on a concept that's going to hold your interest for an entire month and allow you to get 50,000 words written? Here's one idea:
1) Open a newspaper or click on an internet news site. Scroll past all the big news items, and look for the features, or local news, or interesting smaller stories. Let's say you find an article with a headline reading, "Local Woman Finds Alligator in Her Swimming Pool," and lets say you live in Wyoming. That raises a whole lot of interesting questions: How did the alligator get to Wyoming? What did the woman do when she discovered it? How did she remove it (or did she)? What did her neighbors do? What happened to the alligator afterwards? Write down as many questions you can think of that are raised by the article.
2) Next, ask yourself 'what if?' What if the woman just started living alone? What if her town's animal control didn't have a clue how to help her? What if the woman discovers she's one of five families who have discovered alligators in their swimming pools over the past year? What if the alligator starts talking to her? What if the alligator is pink? What if the town decides the alligator's arrival is a harbinger of the apocalypse? Ask yourself all the 'what if' questions you can think of - let your imagination go wild!
3) Write down the 'what if' questions that intrigue you the most. Maybe you decide on 'what if the alligator started talking?' Then, decide what kind of book this will be. A humorous, tongue-in-cheek sci-fi? A mystery? Fantasy? A children's book? A romance between the homeowner and the animal control officer?
4) Start brainstorming your protagonist, using a character questionnaire. Think about what other characters might fit into your story world. Flesh out your setting. Create an outline, or a list of ten scenes you know you want to see in your book.
5) Start writing on November 1st!
What techniques do you use for brainstorming story ideas?
Showing posts with label concept. Show all posts
Showing posts with label concept. Show all posts
Thursday, October 12, 2017
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Greetings from the Newest Operation Awesome Blogger, Jaime Olin!
Hi there! I'm Jaime Olin, and I'm pleased to introduce myself as the newest blogger for Operation Awesome.
I'd like to to answer a few questions you might have about me and tell you what I'll be doing for Operation Awesome - I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you!
What do you write? Mostly YA Contemporary. I also dabble in mysteries, and would love to someday write a sci-fi book set on the moon.
Who is your agent? Mallory Brown at the TriadaUS Literary Agency.
How did you find your agent? I entered my YA Contemporary manuscript, Forgotten, in the 2016 PitchSlam contest (this is a GREAT contest for those who don't know about it - www.pitchslamcontest.com). I made it to the agent round, and Mallory was one of the agents who requested the manuscript. She made an offer of representation, and after notifying the other agents who had the manuscript (some of whom also ended up offering), I ended up choosing Mallory because she felt a real connection with the manuscript. I'm excited to see where things go from here!
How long have you been writing? Casually, since I could hold a pen. Seriously, about seven years ago, once I began participating in some local creative writing workshops. Forgotten is my fourth completed manuscript.
Where do you live? Dallas, Texas now, but I've lived all over the country.
What's your day job? I'm a lawyer for a non-profit.
What kinds of posts do you plan to do for Operation Awesome? My first order of business is to start a weekly (or so) synopsis critique. There are several great options for query critiques on the internet, but I haven't seen any specifically dedicated to synopses. Writers seem to universally dread writing synopses, but it can be done (and done well!), and there are some tips and tricks to it. Since many agents, editors, and contest judges are requiring writers to provide synopses of their manuscripts, and since synopses are also excellent tools to maintain 'the forest for the trees' while writing first drafts, I want to help writers draft and edit them. Details to come next Thursday...
I'm also hoping to create a 'What's the Big Idea?' critique, which will focus on concept. I'll encourage readers to submit a short summary of a work in progress (or work not-yet-in-progress), and allow commenters to ask the author questions about the concept. The questions should help the author hone in on the necessary plot and character points to determine if the idea is viable.
What Hogwarts house would you get sorted into? I'm a Hufflepuff through and through, with hints of Gryffindor occasionally poking through.
What books are you currently reading? Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad and Bruce Springsteen's memoir Born to Run. I most recently finished Nicola Yoon's The Sun is Also a Star. I'm trying to alternate reading adult and YA fiction this year, and I like to always have a non-fiction book going at the same time.
Don't you have a couple of really cute dogs? Funny you should ask! Here they are...
Come find me on Twitter (@jkolin27) and visit my website (www.jaimeolin.com, which is very much a work in progress)!
I'd like to to answer a few questions you might have about me and tell you what I'll be doing for Operation Awesome - I'm looking forward to getting to know all of you!
What do you write? Mostly YA Contemporary. I also dabble in mysteries, and would love to someday write a sci-fi book set on the moon.
Who is your agent? Mallory Brown at the TriadaUS Literary Agency.
How did you find your agent? I entered my YA Contemporary manuscript, Forgotten, in the 2016 PitchSlam contest (this is a GREAT contest for those who don't know about it - www.pitchslamcontest.com). I made it to the agent round, and Mallory was one of the agents who requested the manuscript. She made an offer of representation, and after notifying the other agents who had the manuscript (some of whom also ended up offering), I ended up choosing Mallory because she felt a real connection with the manuscript. I'm excited to see where things go from here!
How long have you been writing? Casually, since I could hold a pen. Seriously, about seven years ago, once I began participating in some local creative writing workshops. Forgotten is my fourth completed manuscript.
Where do you live? Dallas, Texas now, but I've lived all over the country.
What's your day job? I'm a lawyer for a non-profit.
What kinds of posts do you plan to do for Operation Awesome? My first order of business is to start a weekly (or so) synopsis critique. There are several great options for query critiques on the internet, but I haven't seen any specifically dedicated to synopses. Writers seem to universally dread writing synopses, but it can be done (and done well!), and there are some tips and tricks to it. Since many agents, editors, and contest judges are requiring writers to provide synopses of their manuscripts, and since synopses are also excellent tools to maintain 'the forest for the trees' while writing first drafts, I want to help writers draft and edit them. Details to come next Thursday...
I'm also hoping to create a 'What's the Big Idea?' critique, which will focus on concept. I'll encourage readers to submit a short summary of a work in progress (or work not-yet-in-progress), and allow commenters to ask the author questions about the concept. The questions should help the author hone in on the necessary plot and character points to determine if the idea is viable.
What Hogwarts house would you get sorted into? I'm a Hufflepuff through and through, with hints of Gryffindor occasionally poking through.
What books are you currently reading? Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad and Bruce Springsteen's memoir Born to Run. I most recently finished Nicola Yoon's The Sun is Also a Star. I'm trying to alternate reading adult and YA fiction this year, and I like to always have a non-fiction book going at the same time.
Don't you have a couple of really cute dogs? Funny you should ask! Here they are...
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| What do you mean, we're not supposed to be on the bed? |
Come find me on Twitter (@jkolin27) and visit my website (www.jaimeolin.com, which is very much a work in progress)!
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