Category: discovery draft
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Friday’s Findings: The Scratchpad Method
Today is the first day of Camp NaNoWriMo–it’s my first Camp NaNoWriMo!– and I’m using something called “The Scratchpad Method.” You see, I have a writing situation. Is it a good or bad situation? It’s good in the sense I have an abundance of WIPs to work on. It’s bad in the sense I don’t…
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What a Mess!
After thirty days of writing over fifty thousand words, what do I have to show? An incoherent mess of scraps of conversations, descriptions and exposition. It’s a mess. And that’s what makes my 2021 NaNoWriMo a success. The story is there, told all the way through. I just have to rework it and rework it.…
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Friday’s Findings: The Story on Two Levels
I believe I’ve quoted this fiction writing axiom before, but Terry Pratchett said, “The first draft is just you telling yourself the story.” With this year’s NaNoWriMo, I’m finding out how true this is. I’m feeling exactly what he was talking about. I spent September and October prepping my story. I made up characters. I…
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NaNo Update
Just a quick update on my NaNoWriMo project. Over the weekend I reached 30k words, which was my goal. I’m pleased with how it’s going, but, of course, NaNo is about just getting it down on paper (or on the computer). Some things going well: I’ve written something for every scene in the story. Sometimes…
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NaNoWriMo: I’m Not Going to Kick Myself If I Don’t
During November, I need to work my regular job. So how am I going to get NaNoWriMo done? I also need to exercise. I also need to keep my house clean. I also need to run errands. And so on… Judging from my experience in past NaNoWriMos, keeping up with my word count seemed to…
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Friday’s Findings
I’m reading James Scott Bell’s The Art of War for Writers. I’m not even finished, but I’ve already collected a bunch of writing tips and exercises to apply to my own WIPs. Here’s one–and it’s useful for the upcoming NaNoWriMo: “Say you want to describe someone’s wild hair. Write for five minutes without stopping. Describe…
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Friday’s Findings
I’m doing word sprints in preparation for NaNoWriMo. Yes, I’m training like an athlete trains for a race. In this case, I sit in my chair, set my phone for 20 minutes and write non-stop on my WIP (not my NaNoWriMo project). If you think about it, isn’t this a great way to write a…
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Story Structure: 3-Acts
Dozens of ways to construct your story exist. Probably the most popular is the 3-Act platform; it’s a classic. With NaNoWriMo approaching, people are looking for ways to put their story together–except for panters, but that’s a different story. One thing to remember: no story structure is better or worse than another. Just use one…
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Brainstorming for NaNoWriMo (or for any story you want to write)
Whether a writer is a planner or pantser, wither can engage in some minimal planning for NaNoWriMo. If he or she doesn’t want to think about it until twelve midnight on November first, nothing wrong with that. However, they may want to lay some groundwork for their 50,000 word story—nothing wrong with that either—as long…
Andrew M. Friday 