NANOPLANNING STEPS SIX and SEVEN

Ok, I'm guilty of not posting steps on here because I was, ahem, a bit behind in planning my own Nano novel...time to catch up!

Step Six involves taking each section written about in step five and writing a full page of actual manuscript as it might appear in that part of the book. This is no longer description of what it's about; it's actual story. What this forces you to do is to start thinking in the "voice" of different sections of your book. You may use this writing later on, or you may not, but it's good practice, and it's just short of the daily output requirement for Nanowrimo--about 1250 words, instead of the 1633 you'll need to write daily to reach your November goal...

Step Seven is a huge one, and our Inner Circle of 28 has been working on it for a while now:

This step is a big outline, from the beginning of your novel until the end. Basically, you aim to describe, very briefly, 100 "scenes" from your novel--not chapters, but scenes. If you can do that, you will have enough material to fill a 50 000+ -word novel. Anywhere from 80-100 scenes generally leads to success. What to do if you're tapped out at 50 scenes? Add a subplot. Add a character with his or her own secret or story. Throw your protagonist into some kind of deeper trouble. For each scene, I find it helpful to list whose point of view we're seeing the scene through, a brief description, and an idea of whether it will be a small, medium, or long scene ( I actually attempt to guesstimate page numbers when I do it, but my guesses are always wrong...!). A typical entry might look like this:

1. Chouko ("butterfly girl") --she reveals the abusive relationship between Dad & Mom (short scene)
2. Chouko-- Abuse poem, followed by us witnessing Chouko's "escape"--catching butterflies (medium scene)
3. Chouko--learning how to make a "killing jar" and slowly gathering the materials she needs (longer scene)

And it's that easy...list 100 scenes like that, and you'll have a novel planned out from beginning to end. Now, realize, I have NEVER seen anyone totally stick to a plan. Usually characters take over at some point and start telling you to write things you never thought you'd write. That's perfectly normal. It's good to have a plan you can feel flexible about than to have no plan at all. That way, on days when you're stuck, you can "jump ahead" to a part you KNOW you can write. Good luck as we begin NANOWRIMO!