This seems to be the most asked question I never get! This NaNoWriMo had the night where I wrote the most words in one night EVER! 6700 words in one night.And no, I don’t know how to type. I have memorized the keyboard in the form of a pnemonic. Does this method require any kind of memorization? No.You just HAVE to:
- know your plot
- know where every scene comes in and exits
- know WHAT must happen in the scene
- IGnore typoo’s and mispelingks.
It has one rule. This is where almost ALL of you are going to trip.Ready?
Do NOT second guess yourself.
- Type.
- Get some great soundtrack style music, like Audiomachine or something like that to listen to.
- Write out bullet points for every plot point – major and minor – in your novel. Should total to about 55-60 plot points.
- Get those bullet points entered in the index cards in Scrivener. In last years NaNo, one scene simply had “45. Us marshall shows up”But looking at the story in context, all my other notes in place, I knew what it was. The interim US Marshall who fills in for Josiah while he’s in hiding and healing up from his ambush.
- Shut the door to your writing space.
- Hang a do not disturb sign.
- Throw out your TV.
- Start writing.
Where does the scene come in? In this case, the scene starts with the US Marshall riding into town. He knows Josiah’s been ambushed – in the very office he’s riding into – and there’s a dangerous outlaw gang, The Death Dealers. And I know the scene is going to end with him getting shot in the next scene.
From what I’ve written so far, I know what characters to put into play – the replacement marshal and Van Potter, general store manager and town mayor. If he was alive, it would be played by Harry Morgan. They’re going to discuss the gang, Josiah, and set up the tension and conflict for the next scene.
That’s it.
Try not to use more than 600 words on that scene, and give it a cliff hanger.
Okay, it ended up using 631 words. Not too bad.
This is my entire system. You have to KNOW those points. Let me outline them again.
- what happens in the scene
- where in comes in
- where it goes out
- who’s in it
- what do I need to accomplish in it?
Don’t think- type. Get it written. Move on to the next scene.
I’ve got 1667 words to write tonight, so one minor establish scene and one major one. 600 and 1200 words.
Go.
do not question, do not pick, do not fix, do not fiddle. Write.
All of the above is why we edit.
Why is this important? Writing is done with the predominantly creative side of your brain. Editing is done with the predominantly analytical side of your brain. Do not mix. This slows you down DRASTICALLY, because you literally have to switch gears.
All you know is you experience momentary confusion, and everything slows way down as your body shifts from operating in one sphere of your brain to the other.
If you’re experiencing low word output, this is the reason why.
Go buy a sign that says “I AM AWESOME” and place it in your writing space, and stop second questioning yourself.
Plan your novel. Write your novel. Edit in January. It’s really easy, once you get the hang of it. A key I haven’t mentioned is “Dedicated”. You need a dedicated writing space – just for writing. You need a dedicated time slot you do only your novel writing in.
Do these things and within 3 weeks your brain automatically switches gears from everything else to writing.
Just plan out your novel and get started. Then write four more novels.
