YOU DON'T HAVE TO! (Please initiate party now.)
Outlining is (or can be), as was stated on a recent forum thread, "for the process oriented person." There is definitely a certain freedom that comes from not having one. You will never feel the constraint of writing certain scenes in a certain way with certain characters in attendance. Also, you get to have the pleasure that all spectators enjoy of finding out what happens as it happens on the page.
My first year participating in NaNoWriMo happened because a friend IM'd me on November 3rd and asked me if I'd be noveling with her this year. My reaction was, of course, "huh?" So, this lovely young woman sent me a link explaining the insanity that could be the month of November if only I was brave enough to partake in its joy. I offered up body and sound sleep to the NaNo'ing gods that day and have never once felt that the offering was given in vain.
That year, my novel grew from nothing through sleepless nights spent at my dorm room computer. Characters I had never imagined were born in the heat of the moment. The plot curled around and twisted back on itself in ways I could never have planned. It was truly a novel of self-exploration. The experience of a lifetime.
So, isn't the point of the outline-less novel that it's a beautiful, organic experience? What could I possibly tell you about doing an "unplanned" novel that could be useful in any way? Isn't the whole point that there is no planning involved? Well, in short, yes!
One of the hardest things about writing without an outline is that you have little-to-no direction for where to go next if and when you hit a literary roadblock. This is one of the things that you can attempt to avoid with a little preparation in October! Here are a few options for things you can prep in October but don't actually count as a dreaded outline:
The Writing Box: This is a box/notebook/Google doc of handy prompts and information. A friend of mine had one in a flashcard box with dividers that said things like: "Subplots" "Characters" "Places" "Objects" and so on. It's no more nor less than a location for you to store away the plot bunnies that are tugging at your heartstrings now so that they might be called upon again when they're actually needed (as opposed to right now when they're just cluttering things up). "Characters" might include a name, occupation, little quirks, or a 10-page back story of the town's jester who's really an undercover agent for the forces of the evil empress Luxuria!
Links of Usefulness: When you hit a roadblock, it is quite handy to have your own version of the WritersBlock5000Bulldozer on hand to clear away such a mess. I have my own in the form of a folder of useful URL bookmarks that will spur on my brain to greater heights. Find name generators that will fit your theme; bookmark a couple of Google Image searches of Steampunk Computers or French Country Homes or whatever will fit your genre for visual reference; and of course, a straight link to the NaNoWriMo dares thread! The people over on the dares thread are better at getting your novel going again than a jackrabbit with jumper cables! (See Below)
Mid-Month Breakdowns: Nothing kills your novel like a little mid-month mental breakdown. We all suffer from them. Yes, every last one of us, whether we're willing to admit it or not. Last year, mine happened on November 14th from exactly 10:19-10:24 P.M. somewhere through my first beer of the evening as I realized that I was COMPLETELY out of story. Thankfully, I'd done some pre-planning of my own for such an event and whipped out my safety stash of JustInCase left-over Halloween chocolate and opened up Wikipedia. (In case you are ever wondering, Wikipedia is one of the most amazing places to go for plot ideas. This is how my MC managed to contract influenza and die from exposure at the end of my novel, scoring me just enough wordcount to finish!) So, take a deep breath, remember we've all been there, and dive into those links, that writing box, or onto the forums for some suggestions and a little jumpstart.
Those are my pro tips! My very best pro tips, even! I spared none. Kept none for myself. Hopefully, they will prove useful and enlightening for those of you who have taken the adventurer's challenge and will plunge into the coming month with little more than a dream and a guiding star. Personally, I'll stick to road maps and my compass, but perhaps once again the wild nights will call to me and beckon me into the fray with a nothing more than sabre 'tween my teeth and a burning outline on the path behind!
Until next time,
One of the hardest things about writing without an outline is that you have little-to-no direction for where to go next if and when you hit a literary roadblock. This is one of the things that you can attempt to avoid with a little preparation in October! Here are a few options for things you can prep in October but don't actually count as a dreaded outline:
The Writing Box: This is a box/notebook/Google doc of handy prompts and information. A friend of mine had one in a flashcard box with dividers that said things like: "Subplots" "Characters" "Places" "Objects" and so on. It's no more nor less than a location for you to store away the plot bunnies that are tugging at your heartstrings now so that they might be called upon again when they're actually needed (as opposed to right now when they're just cluttering things up). "Characters" might include a name, occupation, little quirks, or a 10-page back story of the town's jester who's really an undercover agent for the forces of the evil empress Luxuria!
Links of Usefulness: When you hit a roadblock, it is quite handy to have your own version of the WritersBlock5000Bulldozer on hand to clear away such a mess. I have my own in the form of a folder of useful URL bookmarks that will spur on my brain to greater heights. Find name generators that will fit your theme; bookmark a couple of Google Image searches of Steampunk Computers or French Country Homes or whatever will fit your genre for visual reference; and of course, a straight link to the NaNoWriMo dares thread! The people over on the dares thread are better at getting your novel going again than a jackrabbit with jumper cables! (See Below)
Mid-Month Breakdowns: Nothing kills your novel like a little mid-month mental breakdown. We all suffer from them. Yes, every last one of us, whether we're willing to admit it or not. Last year, mine happened on November 14th from exactly 10:19-10:24 P.M. somewhere through my first beer of the evening as I realized that I was COMPLETELY out of story. Thankfully, I'd done some pre-planning of my own for such an event and whipped out my safety stash of JustInCase left-over Halloween chocolate and opened up Wikipedia. (In case you are ever wondering, Wikipedia is one of the most amazing places to go for plot ideas. This is how my MC managed to contract influenza and die from exposure at the end of my novel, scoring me just enough wordcount to finish!) So, take a deep breath, remember we've all been there, and dive into those links, that writing box, or onto the forums for some suggestions and a little jumpstart.
Those are my pro tips! My very best pro tips, even! I spared none. Kept none for myself. Hopefully, they will prove useful and enlightening for those of you who have taken the adventurer's challenge and will plunge into the coming month with little more than a dream and a guiding star. Personally, I'll stick to road maps and my compass, but perhaps once again the wild nights will call to me and beckon me into the fray with a nothing more than sabre 'tween my teeth and a burning outline on the path behind!
Until next time,
Yours in prose (almost!) and insanity,
-Lauren (aka nibo, the Ninja ML)
-Lauren (aka nibo, the Ninja ML)
NaNoWriMo Dares Threads (1 and 2):
http://www.nanowrimo.org/node/3264019
http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/node/3300262
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