As NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) quickly approaches I find myself in a dilemma as to what to write.
Option One:
Write the next novel in a series I’m writing on three “sisters.” I finished the first one a few months ago and I am currently in the process of revising. It would be easy to step back into writing about familiar characters. However, I am doing some major rewriting on the first story. I already have a clear idea of the major storyline changes. But my characters sometimes take on a life of their own and the story takes an unexpected turn. So writing a follow up story before the first one is set in stone could be a bit risky.
Option Two:
I started a short story a few weeks ago that intended to be a piece of flash fiction. It grew to around 5,000 words. I’ve been trying to decide exactly how to end the piece for the last week or so. But for the last couple of days I keep thinking… I’d like to know more about this character. What happened in her life that led her to make this choices? What was her childhood like? What was her relationship like with her parents? So now I’m considering using what I wrote as a synopsis and making this my NaNoWriMo story. The length would be perfect.
When you think it about it, it’s not a bad dilemma to be in. I have two viable options for my NaNoWriMo story. Things could be much worse. I could have absolutely no idea what I’m going to write. But, I have to make a choice – and soon.
There are only eleven days left for me to plot my story and outline my characters. I’m giving myself a few more days and then I’ll make a decision.
It’s that time of year again. The time of year when aspiring novelists get all worked up about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). This will be my fourth time participating in NaNoWriMo. Everytime I participated in the past I started out of the gate happy, shiny, and optimistic. Sometimes I kept that enthusiasm going for two weeks. But then I’d let doubt creep in and I would inevitably get off track. I skipped last year. But this year I am prepared to rise to the challenge armed with a detailed plan nearly six years in the making.
When my dear friend, Deb Smouse, asked me how I was going to approach NaNoWriMo this year it occurred to me that sharing my plan might be helpful to other NaNoers (both old and new) so it won’t take them six years to create a workable plan, too.
Create an Outline
I’ve typically been a pantster (someone who writes without an outline). I’d begin with my characters and a basic story in mind. Then I’d see where the characters would take me as the story developed. I loved the little surprises my characters would deliver, doing or saying something unexpected. Yet inevitably I’d write myself into a corner. My solution? Step away from the story for a few days. I’d lose my momentum and once those few days turned into a few year (and counting!). The result? I ended up with three incomplete works in progress (WIP).
Then I heard author Kimberla Lawson Roby on an internet radio show talk about her writing process. She uses a very structured outlining process which includes writing a synopsis of each chapter before she begins writing. I decided to give outlining a try. It helped TREMENDOUSLY. Even if I don’t follow the outline exactly (because sometimes my characters have a mind of their own) it gives me a great framework and I am able to work more effectively. Now if I get stuck, instead of “sitting it aside” for a few days (which in one case turned to a few years and counting) I now take out a sheet of paper or a notebook and start mapping out the scenes. It works every time! By utilizing the outlining process I was finally able to finish one languishing WIP and then another.
Flesh Out Your Characters
The last time I participated in NaNoWriMo my friend, Shon Bacon, introduced me to her wonderful Writer’s Boot Camp in preparation for NaNoWriMo. The Boot Camp consisted of several questionnaires that forced me to really get to know each of my characters and story in depth. It asked lots of questions about each character – what they do for a living, what they like, what is their motivation, etc. and an overview of the storyline. The Boot Camp really helped me to understand each character and their motivation.
Writer’s Cafe Software Writer’s Cafe software is the perfect complement to the outlining process. I discovered the software a couple of years ago. Both times I started using the software about a third of the way through a book I was writing because I started to lose track of details like the last names or physical traits of some minor characters. This time I will use Writer’s Cafe from the beginning rather than trying to dig through a partial manuscript to find those details and plug them into the software.
Know What Time of Day Works Best for You
About three years ago I stumbled across Lisa Coffey’s website What’s Your Dosha where I learned a little about Ayurveda and Dosha types. Ayurveda is India’s 5,000 year old “Science of Life.” It teaches the art of living in harmony with nature. Your dosha is your mind and body type. After taking the Dosha quiz and watching a few of Lisa’s videos I discovered something I would never have believed about myself – I work best very early in the morning - as opposed to late at night, when I was doing most of my writing.
Getting up earlier to attack my writing before moving on to other tasks was a sacrifice initially (though I have now come to enjoy an earlier start to my day). But I remembered something writer, Connie Briscoe, said when I went to hear her speak at the Cleveland Public Library in Downtown Cleveland a few years ago. She said when she first began writing, while she had a full-time corporate job, she got up early in the morning to do her writing before work. She said she wanted to give her best to herself. Everyone else would get the rest.
Discover what time of day works best for you. Write when you are at your best and feeling most creative.
Create a Workable Schedule
Writing is one of those things that doesn’t happen unless you make the time to do it. Particularly when undertaking what seems like a huge challenge it is important to create a feasible schedule. One that you and your family can live with. I’d love to say that I will write every single day. And who knows, maybe I will. However, I know myself (and my other obligations) enough to admit that I probably won’t write every single day. The goal of NaNoWriMo is to write 50,000 words of a new novel during the month of November. That is 12,500 words per week or about 1,667 words per day. I am creating a four day per week schedule with a goal of writing 3,500. (3,125 words minimum).
Write or Die
Sounds harsh or dramatic at the very least. However, Write or Die is an excellent productivity software for writers that helps you stay focused and keep writing for a designated period of time. I’ve typically been able to write around 1200 words in 48 minutes using this software. Three sessions (2.5 hours) and I’ve got my goal for the day. You can use the web version of the software or the newer desktop version.
Get Support
Connect with others in the writing community who will be participating in NaNoWriMo this year. No-one understands the craziness of NaNoWriMo unless they’ve tried it before. They will sympathize with you, encourage you, and give you a much-needed kick in the pants whenever it is necessary. There is also the element of healthy competition. When you see how much your friends have written you will likely put down the television remote and get to your computer so you won’t be left behind in their dust. In the end you can all celebrate your success together.
Just Do It
The prospect of writing 50,000 words of a new novel is daunting. No-one is more aware of that than me. However, if you’re an aspiring novelist looking for something to kickstart your writing NaNoWriMo is a wonderful project. Whether you finish or not, whether your book ever gets published or not, at least you’ll be writing. Definitely a step in the right direction. It took me six years to work out this system. Hopefully the fourth time is the charm. If you are participating in NaNoWriMo this year, I’d love to connect. My NaNo profile is here: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/666743. Feel free to share your plan for NaNoWriMo below.
Happy Writing Kids!
RaleighRoxStar/AmaraLewis
Listen to the interview with author Kimberla Roby Lawson below. It starts at about the 9:30 mark.
LeBron James longtime girlfriend and the mother of his two boys, Savannah Brinson, has always been pretty low-key. You would rarely see her in photos and I only remember her being interviewed once in a piece on LeBron at home (before he moved to the MegaHouse).
It was great to see her and the boys in this piece for Harpers Bazaar. It was interesting to hear her thoughts and it sounds like she has lots of projects on the table in the near future. Glad to hear it. I wish her lots of success on Girl Listen (her girls empowerment project) and the furniture line she designed called Home Court by LeBron James. Read the Harper’s Bazaar article here.
I’ll admit that this whole circus around your free agency has driven me up a wall. About seven months ago I declared that I didn’t care about any of the hushed whispers and rumors about Jay-Z (love the Jigga Man) whisking you off to Brooklyn or about you partying in South Beach with Dwyane Wade.
I refused to listen to any of it because NONE of it mattered. The only thing that mattered was what YOU had to say. Your final decision.
On July 1st I promptly yanked my head out of the sand, shook the dust out of my ears, pulled out my #23 jersey, and started to listen to all the so-called experts. Each with an opposing take on the situation. I, along with thousands of other Cleveland Cavalier fans in Ohio and across the country, began my vigil, holding my breath, waiting for you to give me the good news.
That you remembered your promise to put Akron and Cleveland on the map. That you would finally deliver the championship that has eluded us for long. That this is your home. And though you are loved around the world, you feel it most strongly in Ohio where we each hold a special sense of pride. Many talented people (Bob Hope, Paul Newman, Erma Bombeck, Doris Day, Thomas Edison, Steven Spielberg, Gloria Steinem) once called Ohio their home. Yet, for some reason you seem more a native son than any of them.
We have watched you since your years at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School, beaming with pride because the “Chosen One” of the NBA was one of our own. We rejoiced in a way this town hadn’t known in so long over signing you as the first round draft pick. We marveled as you delivered, like no young athlete had before you. Living up to the hype, then adding a few mad moves on top of it, just because you could.
We’ve celebrated every milestone with you. Watched you break one record after another in the NBA. We didn’t even mind when you smashed the Cavs records of our beloved Cavalier greats. Because you were our LeBron.
Now we will all wait, knees shaking, hearts thumping, wondering if you will stay in Cleveland, in the city and state where you are so admired and loved – not just for your skills on the court, but your generosity and commitment to your community. I will even DVR my beloved Burn Notice and watch with my Cavalier brethren as you render your decision.
I know that you’ve already made up your mind, but I just had to throw out one last plea. I wanted to remind you how much we appreciate the thrills and joy you’ve given us over the past seven years. We respect you and your decision to do what is best for you and your family. But, if it’s not too much to ask, we request that you give us another chance.
You want to win a championship and we want that for you, too. But wouldn’t it be great if we could all get what we want RIGHT HERE in Cleveland? We’re not asking you to commit to us forever (though, don’t get me wrong, that would be awful nice). What we are asking for is just a few more years to work things out and get them exactly right.
You need a championship. I get that. But so does this town.
Cleveland is a city that is so often maligned by outsiders, like Charles Barkley and Joakim Noah. But the worst is the internal negativity that is often bred among Cleveland natives. We say things like, ‘Nothing good ever happens in Cleveland.’ ‘This is the kind of thing that can only happen in Cleveland.’ ‘Cleveland is just so unlucky.’ Worse still, is how these feelings are evidenced in our everyday lives.
The City of Cleveland needs a championship. The State of Ohio needs a championship. We need you, the right coach, and the right cast of characters to make it happen. The fans are committed. The Cavs ownership is committed. It is our hope that you are committed to it, too.
I changed to a Plant-based, or Vegan Lifestyle a little more than three months ago. I LOVE IT! I am still discovering new prepared foods for Vegans and I’m discovering lots of wonderful recipe resources for plant-based diets.
Eating out can be challenging. However, for the most part I’ve been able to find something on the menu at any restaurant that I’d enjoy. I did find it much more difficult to eat out at restaurants when I took my women’s travel group on a Girlfriends Getaway to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Everything there seemed to be drenched in cheese. However, I managed to find a couple of really delicious meals. My favorite was a Portabella Mushroom Fajita. A meal I now make regularly at home.
I also discovered a really tasty vegan prepared meal at Harmony Farms Market on Creedmoor Road in Raleigh, NC. The Thai Dumplings are amazing. Even my son loved them. I’d highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys Thai foods.
To anyone who hasn’t lived in Cleveland the whole will LeBron stay or will he go thing must seem pretty ridiculous. (I lived there for 39 years and even I’m tired of hearing about it!)
However, if you’re clueless about just how big an impact his decision will have on the city, check out the video below. If you’ve lived in The Cleve you’ll understand just how big a deal this is. For everyone else, let’s just suffice to say that just about everyone who is anyone in Cleveland is in this “We are the World” knockoff. Gotta love their hearts, but the singing makes me wish for Justin Bieber.
C’mon LeBron, have a heart. Who else is gonna love you enough to make complete fools of themselves like that? Nobody but Cleveland (and Akron and Elyria and Mentor). That’s who.
This is absolutely one of my favorite albums of 2008. Raheem DeVaughn’s voice is soulful and sultry and the songs cover topics most can easily identify with. Looking forward to what he does next.
Roxanne is... a Freelance Journalist and aspiring novelist living in North Carolina with her husband and young adult son. She is an avid reader with a to-be-read stack that resembles a small skyscraper and a music lover with a thing for singer/songwriters and a bonafide music soundtrack addiction. Roxanne is currently revising the first of three completed manuscripts.
Roxanne is... a Freelance Journalist and aspiring novelist living in North Carolina with her husband and young adult son. She is an avid reader with a to-be-read stack that resembles a small skyscraper and a music lover with a thing for singer/songwriters and a bonafide music soundtrack addiction. Roxanne is currently revising the first of three completed manuscripts. 
