Goals met and I am feeling so so positive about my writing today! I can't put my finger on why but I guess it is because things are coming together in my head. After the 'lost' writing month of September I am loving the fact I am back to scribbling on post its, having ideas when I am driving and catching myself day dreaming about my NaNo murder mystery. Sigh. It feels so good!
The end of this week saw me finish watching the episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs and I have even more pages of scribbled ideas. I have been online researching which has thrown up some lovely details I hope to weave in to my story and also just things that make me smile. Did I mention I am setting my story at Christmas time? I am, because I love Christmas! Look at this vintage 1930s Christmas china I saw on Ebay.
This is definately going to feature!
I followed a link retweeted by Gene today (whilst procrastinating I admit it!) and read this brilliant post by Larry Brooks about what to try when you get stuck in your NaNo prep. I found on this site a post from each day of October so far (and am assuming they will continue until November 1st) about NaNo and the preparation involved. They are great reads and are really helpful at identifying what you have already achieved in your prep and what you need to do. Todays as mentioned is about what to do when you get stuck in your prep. Larry suggests watching a movie and looking at each scene and literally plotting the story. Identifying plot points, focusing on what the scene means to the story. Guess what I will be doing later today?! He explains it much better than me so look here.
Ok, off now to check out some check-ins, do some more research and try out the activity above.
Before I go though can I just ask NaNo people that it is ok to write my NaNo on Microsoft Word Starter 2010? There are no rules about the software you write on are there?
Also IMPORTANT NEWS! Me and Lena have been working on our NaNo support group blog so hopefully it will be up this week! We will announce on both our blogs and on twitter when we are up and running! So exciting!
Sounds like your having lots of fun researching for your murder mystery. I LOVE Christmas too. Looking forward to future updates. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm reading Larry Brooks' book "Story Engineering" and loving it so far. I recommend it.
Going to check the post you referenced here. I think i saw it, but I cannot be too sure.
Have a nice Sunday.
I hadn't heard of NaNo until recently. Sounds like a lot of prep work, but it seems you are coming along! I've already got a novel I'm focusing on writing so I won't be participating, but I'll enjoy cheering the rest of you on. Keep up the good work for your goals :)
ReplyDeleteYay for the NaNo support group! Can't wait and will definitely keep an eye out for it. If you guys need help, let me know!
ReplyDeleteI am woefully behind on my outline...I have notes scribbled here and there and need to really get started. Hopefully if I can finish some homework I can work on that tonight. And thanks for the link to that post--definitely going to check it out and put it on my 'must read' list!
Good luck this week with your goals!
That china is just wonderful! I love the idea of working it into the story. Amazing what you can find to look at on the internet? Right? heh heh.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you're feeling positive and upbeat and excited about your writing! When we feel great, it comes out in our work, I believe.
I'm looking forward to seeing you and Lena get the support group up and running. You never know... (puts on my best mysterious face - Ha!) I get to do some fun research later on. The 'Outlining Your Novel' that I'm reading recommends surfing the web for pics that capture the look of a scene/character/setting and printing it out to put in your outline notebook. What could be more fun than that?
If I complete my character profiles, my scene summaries, and my outline, I'm going to join NaNo. Plus, I have to type Her Dark Baron. Oy! I'll not be visiting around at my usual rate these next two weeks as I get some serious work done. Whew!
Very cool, Em. I'm glad that the link lead you to something useful. Larry is a great resource, his book Story Engineering is a master class in story structure (highly recommended reading).
ReplyDeleteHoping the suggestions help you find your way through to an outline. All the best for the coming week and thanks much for the mention :)
I am sooooo happy to see that your writing and plotting are coming along! And oh man, Larry Brooks is awesome, and I am going to have to read his books one of these days, but his blog series is just fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the idea of setting your story during Christmas, and the vintage china is wonderful. Oh, and regarding NaNo writing software, it's pretty much whatever you want to use (I ran across someone on the forums who says she only writes with pen and paper, which I think is crazy). I think I'll be using some strange combo of Scrivener, Google docs, and a notepad, lol.
Have a wonderful week! I can't wait to get our blog up and running!
Looking forward to the nano support blog. There are no hard rules about what you use to write or type your novel. No worries. I found Larry Brooks Nano prep posts a week or so. Aren't they great. Have a great week.
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