{"id":27593,"date":"2023-09-23T13:29:16","date_gmt":"2023-09-23T20:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=27593"},"modified":"2023-09-23T13:53:32","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T20:53:32","slug":"nanowrimo-prep-and-scrivener-sneak-peek-by-catharine-bramkamp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/23\/nanowrimo-prep-and-scrivener-sneak-peek-by-catharine-bramkamp\/","title":{"rendered":"Nanowrimo Prep and Scrivener Sneak Peek by Catharine Bramkamp"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In this post we share another post by Catharine Bramkamp<\/a> on “Nanowrimo Prep and Scrivener Sneak Peek.”<\/p>\n

You can also watch Catharine talk about these tips and chat about how to use Scrivener<\/a> in the accompanying video below. Or directly here on youtube<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

NaNo is Coming<\/h2>\n

I was completely stuck on my next book.<\/p>\n

I wish I could say I had so many ideas I couldn\u2019t record them fast enough.<\/p>\n

I would love to brag that the book just flowed out of me.<\/p>\n

I would give up coffee if I could say, wow, the characters sprang to life on the page!<\/p>\n

But none of that was happening.<\/p>\n

Just barren reams of blank paper.<\/p>\n

Or rather, a white screen.<\/p>\n

Ahhh… Snow Blindness!<\/p>\n

NaNoWriMo Prep<\/h2>\n

Then Beth asked if I could contribute to the NaNoWriMo prep to help writers set up their novels for a successful 50,000 marathon in November and I suddenly realized that I could do the same.<\/p>\n

I could postpone writing this novel until November.<\/p>\n

That realization, strangely, relieved all the pressure to wrestle this book to the ground and beat a plot from it\u2019s lifeless corpse.<\/p>\n

I stored the file deep into my computer hard drive and tried to forget about it.<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the question, why prep for an event famous for promoting spontaneous writing?<\/p>\n

Why prep for NaNoWriMo?<\/h2>\n

NaNoWriMo Prep will edge you closer to a finished novel draft one sneaky step at a time.<\/p>\n

Like any enormous endeavor, dismantling the whole into the sum of its parts will give you the edge when you start writing.<\/p>\n

Instead of waking every morning with the enormous idea of \u201cToday I write my Novel,\u201d you will wake and think, \u201cToday, in honor of not writing a whole novel, I will write exactly one sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tinker Away<\/h2>\n

As soon as I put my novel aside, I felt free to tinker.<\/p>\n

I started to fill in a few more character features.\u00a0I made a couple notes.<\/p>\n

I queried ChatGPT about plot lines or outcomes or character backgrounds.\u00a0I realized that Chat GPT doesn\u2019t know what the hell it\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n

If you are ready for NaNoWriMo and want to sort of, kind of, organize a few things that may accidentally contribute early to the 50,000 words for the win, here are some ideas:<\/p>\n

Sign up for the event.<\/h3>\n

Go to the NaNoWriMo website<\/a> and sign up.<\/p>\n

Direct link: https:\/\/nanowrimo.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Commitment is halfway to completion.<\/p>\n

Create Scrivener File for Your Book<\/h3>\n

Fill in the new Scrivener<\/a> files for your new novel (or any writing program you prefer) and create sections for scene ideas under the manuscript tab.<\/p>\n

More about Scrivener and how to buy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Do not create files titled chapter 1, 2, 3.<\/p>\n

Use descriptive titles with enough details that on November 30th you will easily remember what you wrote on November 3rd without Opening.Every.File.Again.<\/p>\n

Create a logo or a book cover<\/h3>\n

Create a logo or a book cover.<\/p>\n

Canva<\/a> is a wonderful online program that will help you make up a mock book cover that will inspire you all November.<\/p>\n

A book cover helps contribute to the illusion that the novel is the real deal.<\/p>\n

Follow Excellent Plot Suggestions<\/h3>\n

Follow some of the excellent plot suggestions that proliferate in the fall.<\/p>\n

Stay here and read all the information available on Writer\u2019s Fun Zone<\/a>, as well as the NaNoWriMo website.<\/p>\n

And, read Chris Baty\u2019s No Plot? No Problem!<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Start: Open a Scene File<\/h3>\n

Open up a scene file and stare at the blank page because in October.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t matter if something is written or not.<\/p>\n

Good thing, because I know that for the 15 long minutes you stared at that blank screen and not a single word came to mind.<\/p>\n

The win here is that you opened the book file.<\/p>\n

Call it good and close the screen and make a note to open it again tomorrow.<\/p>\n

I feel you.<\/p>\n

The Good News<\/h3>\n

Here is what may happen.<\/p>\n

Because you\u2019ve removed all the pressure to produce in August by procrastinating and postponing writing the book in November, characters will start to talk to you.<\/p>\n

A plot or scene will spring up during your morning journaling.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll get a brilliant idea while watching a mediocre movie.<\/p>\n

You will overhear a perfect dialogue point while standing in line at Starbucks.<\/p>\n

Cheat<\/h3>\n

Cheat.<\/p>\n

There is great energy in cheating.<\/p>\n

If you have a few thousand words when you start on November 1st, good for you!<\/p>\n

A win on the first day (ahem, 1,600 words each day), is a win, and that\u2019s what we are all about here.<\/p>\n

The Point of NaNoWriMo<\/h2>\n

The point always of NaNo is to loosen up writers and give them permission to write terrible words, scribble down strange ideas, and record messy thoughts.<\/p>\n

That is is joy of it as well.<\/p>\n

There is nothing better than the act of writing, the joy of words careening out of the imagination and tumbling across the page.<\/p>\n

Prepare for joy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Start out November with a few words on the page, a couple of ideas or scenes that only need a little more fleshing out, a list of possible characters, and you just may \u201cwin\u201d by finishing up a solid, messy, satisfying draft by November 30th.<\/p>\n

At least that\u2019s my new plan. It can be yours too!<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

Watch Catharine’s video here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Or here:<\/p>\n