November is National Novel Writing Month or NaNoWriMo. I have committed to finishing “Silver Wings” (tentatively titled), my first young adult novel.
So what does this mean? How do you write an entire novel in one month? How do you begin to plan for something like that. Well, I used to outline my novels. Then I wrote Torn and I spent more time rewriting the outline then building my story, so I threw the outline out the window. Now I do post it notes. Every idea, plot, detail, development goes on its own sticky notes that then gets placed onto my storyboard. Which currently, is three 8.5” x 11” pieces of paper.
Don’t you love my professional storyboard? Ok, ok…it’s not pretty. But it works. For me. Find what works for you. Read what other authors do to organize their thoughts. Some authors can sit down and write an entire book from start to finish. My thoughts jump around like a jackrabbit on crack, so this method does not work for me.
I know that writing a novel in one month is insane, and that’s why I do it. I know it will need editing and polishing, but it forces me to sit down and write even if I have nothing to say. I’m trying for 1500 words a day. I will keep a daily log on the left sidebar as an accountability measure. Feel free to text/email/comment me if I start slacking.
Speaking of the left sidebar, you will notice that I put a cute little badge for Still Moments Publishing’s Blog Hop. Coming soon, more details to follow. I will be guest blogging! I’m super excited about it. Happy Friday ya’ll!
