Well, so much for posting once a day until NaNo. Got busy with schoolwork and the like. And the forums. Oh, God, the forums.
On that note, I'm already posting on the "NaNoWriMo Ate My Soul" forums. It's only the 8th of October. I don't think this is a good sign for things to come.
Anyway, one thing I've been thinking about lately is planning. I'm not big on planning. I usually get a vague idea of a beginning, a couple of main characters, and I go. This can lead to some interesting, thrown-together-at-the-last-second endings, but generally it seems to work. At least, with my general writing. Not so much with NaNoWriMo and stories that I actually care about. Not to mention it was only after I began some sort of planning that I actually managed to finish NaNo.
It's one of those things that every other writer seems to love and I hate (along with trying to name all the characters in my story so that their name is somehow "meaningful" to that particular character. I hate that, I don't get it). Take one of my friends that I've done NaNo with for the past couple of years. She plans out everything, down to the last scene. To me, that takes the spontaneity out of writing, and that takes the fun out of the writing. That being said, I do obviously need to plan somewhat, otherwise I get stuck about 20k into it and quit.
I like notebooks and note cards. They let me put things in all sorts of weird orders, draw arrows, write in margins, and rearrange to fit my needs and are easier to carry around than computers. Okay, so laptops might be fairly easy to carry around, but notebooks and note cards never run out of batteries. :) Even in the midst of non-noveling season, I always carry around a spare notebook in case inspiration hits me while I'm out and about.
I don't know. I guess it's a question I'd like to pose to people; how extensively do you plan, especially for NaNo? If you do plan extensively, how do you do it? On the computer? In a notebook?
Last year, I ran it about the same as you did. I set the story in motion with 2 characters and a vague idea of what I wanted to happen. I made it work, but it ended up being about 40,000 words longer than anticipated. Right now I am editing and trying to cut out the fat. Not many people are into 500 page zombie novels, or so the blogging world tells me.
ReplyDeleteThis year I am planning to do a moderate outline. I wont right out exactly how it ends or how characters get there, but having about six key events will keep them on track. I hope.