Nanowrimo: A Novel in 30 Days

Nanowrimo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and takes place from November 1st - 31st.
The goal is to write 50,000 words in one month.

This is a ted talk we watched this week about setting 30-day goals...like writing a novel :)

 
Scrivner - Fantastic program for helping you write a novel
How to write a novel using scrivner
Write faster with scrivner

Point of View

General Point of View information:

No reason to redo what has already been done well: See This Page about the types of Point of View.

Writing in first person vs. third person is not only changing 'he'/'she' to 'I'.  When writing in first person, the story can be told with thoughts, emotions, and opinions mixed into the narration.

Pronouns & Point of View
*If you need help with knowing what word choice / pronouns go with what point of view, click here.

WRITING EXERCISE 1: Write a couple paragraphs (or use something you've already written) and change it between first person and third person. Second person is used less often, but you could try it out if you would like.
Past / Present Tense
We looked at two examples of first person writing:

• The Lightning Thief - First person past tense (I mumbled, etc.)
• Hunger Games - First person present tense (I prop, I swing, I always)

If you want to see the same passage of text in a past tense and a present tense form, here is a good example.

WRITING EXERCISE 2: Write a couple paragraphs (or use something you've already written) and change it between past and present tense.


Writing from the Opposite Gender's Point of View:
These are some of my favorite tips:

• Draw from real life; pay attention to conversation and actions of the other gender
• Men tend to speak more directly than women
• Avoid Stereotypes!

From: CrimsonLeague
More to read on Writing the Opposite Gender....
http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2013/01/16/writing-pov-the-opposite-sex/
http://learnasyouwrite.com/how-to-write-pov-for-the-opposite-sex/http://learnasyouwrite.com/how-to-write-pov-for-the-opposite-sex/

WRITING EXERCISE 3: (I recommend doing this in first person). Pick a scene you've been writing. Make a list of details a boy would notice and a girl would notice (and what they would both notice). Notice what's the same, what's different. Then write a paragraph from a male perspective (involving those details and in a relatively more direct style) and a paragraph from a female perspective (again, involving the details you think a girl would notice over a guy).
THE TEST: Give your two paragraphs to a reader, and ask them to tell you what gender narrator each paragraph is from.

Some Related Posts on Character / Voice:
Realistic and Exciting Characters
Notes on Tone, Style & Voice
Knowing Your Characters

Heroes and Villains

Heroes:

• Not perfect - they do need to have a flaw.
• Lame middle name - makes them humble/laughable
• Base - who they are before they start - DON'T have your character exist just for the plot
• Relate to them or have sympathy for them
• Ideal - the reader likes something about them - maybe they admire the character or wish they could be more like them.
• Paradox / Inner Conflict - they need to be pulled in different directions, to make them interesting and (hopefully) this can be connected to the plot.
• Past, Present, Future (Back story, experiences that have shaped them; then who they are now; future motivations and desires)

 Villains
*Remember that not everyone who opposes the protagonist is a villain. They may just be misguided, or they may have good reasons for their actions as well.

•  It is not an interesting story without conflict - you ALWAYS want to have some inner conflict in your story. Then a good book will have some external conflict (with others or with nature)
• Don't have your villain opposing the protagonist just to go against the protagonist. They will have other reasons, self-interest, twisted ideologies/misguided principles.
• What threat do they pose to the protagonist?
• This will make them more believable.
• Try not to make "cardboard cut-out" villains - try to make them original.
• Villains NEED to have a backstory - as good as the protagonist's.*
•  Making your Villain relateable as well will make your story more complex - which actually makes it more believable because in real life people are complex and everyone has bad/good sides.

*But also remember, though just about every character should have a back story, note every back story should be written down in the book, necessarily.

Examples:
Megamind

• You might think he is simply going against Metroman (because they talk about it in the movie)
• BUT he identifies with the role of the villain. He "plays the game" to please himself, and because it's fun, and
• "If I was the bad boy, I was going to be the baddest boy of them all."

Sauron (Lord of the Rings)

• Wasn't doing things just to be evil
• He had motivations: for himself
• The ring is evil, but it still does things to rejoin it's master

Earlier Post: Being Unique with your Characters