NaNoWriMo and No Plot? No Problem!

Over the last few days, in preparation for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), I read the book "No Plot? No Problem!" written by the founder of NaNoWriMo, Chris Baty. His philosophy: you don't have to have all the intricacies of a plot worked out before you write. Some of the gaps can be filled in during the rewriting process.

That's not to say that you don't have to do some work before you actually sit down at the keyboard. You do need to have the basics: your characters with an at least brief character sketch (who are they, what do they want, why do they want it, what gets in the way of their getting what they want...), a general idea of a plot arc (which he says is not as intimidating as it seems. Uh-huh.), and setting. Although, he says, if you don't have a plot, don't worry. Plot is nothing more than the actions of your characters as they move through the story. The plot will happen as your characters interact with each other and their surroundings. You just have to let it happen.

The whole point to NaNoWriMo is that you write. You don't edit, you write. If you get stuck on a scene, make some type of note there that tells you this part needs work (type something in caps or highlight the text) and move on. Keep notes of ideas and dialogue that pops in your mind that can be used later on in the book.

I'm psyched about this. I'm also a little scared. 50,000 words in 30 days. Less than that, if you take away a weekend day here and there and Thanksgiving Day. What has me frightened is that I participated in a Book In A Week (BIAW) several months ago, and what I wrote ended up being crap. Of course, this was something I wrote having no idea of plot arc or what happened in the middle of the book. I had my characters, an idea of how the book began and a vague idea of how it ended, and the setting. This story is in the process of being rewritten, and it's going to be very different in its second incarnation than it's first. It has been a painful--and educational--process.

Two more days, and the madness of NaNoWriMo starts. I hope my sanity survives.