NaNo Wrap-Up: How to Move Forward
Yay! Whether we won NaNoWriMo or not, we survived November (and we’re almost done with 2014—yikes!), and before doing anything else I want to take a moment to gasp—er, breathe. *smile*
First, I want to thank all of my fantastic guest posters who filled in for me last month. I wouldn’t have won NaNo without their help, but I also hope their post topics brought unique subjects here that we might not have seen otherwise. So a shout out to them for their insights on switching genres, researching stories, researching characters, emotional psychology, and editing before submissions. Thank you all!
I’m not kidding about the fact that I wouldn’t have won NaNo without their help. I started slow because my October projects kept me from completing my research ahead of time, and many hours of the first weekend were spent looking up important I-need-to-know-this-to-write-the-premise details.
Even after that research was completed, most of my word count felt like pulling teeth, and I didn’t find a writing groove until the last week. And my beloved keyboard died. And my computer blue-screen crashed and corrupted my hard drive (requiring a full restore)—twice. *sigh*
Seriously. Winning feels like a miracle after all that.
But I’m a Pollyanna who likes taking away something positive from every experience, so let’s talk about how we can move forward from any draft, NaNo or not.
Step #1: Analyze What Worked and What Didn’t
Whether we’ve just finished a one-hour writing sprint or a month-long NaNo novel, it’s good to take a minute and analyze what worked about our processes and what didn’t:
- Did writing sprints help us get into a writing groove, or did they stress us out?
- Did camaraderie help motivate us, or did it add unhelpful pressure?
- Did we do too much story planning and lost inspiration to write, or did we not do enough and flailed with where the story should go?
- Did we know enough about our characters to get into their point of view, and if not, what would have been good to know about them from the beginning?
- Did we have the right amount of conflict and arc planning, and if not, what should we try differently next time?
- Etc., etc.
For example, my situation was too insane to join writing sprints, and that failure kept me from getting into writing grooves early in the month when I needed to let my subconscious take over and show me who these characters were. So a lesson I’m taking away is that when I feel like I don’t know enough about the characters or story, I need to make sure I use a method (like writing sprints) to force my subconscious to step up.
Another area I flailed was with conflict. I thought my hero and heroine would be more stubborn about getting together, but I kept catching them kissing when I wasn’t expecting it. *grin* So the conflict arc is coming together differently from I thought. I think it will still work, but this is a good reminder to make sure we have lots of conflict in our stories so other conflict elements can pick up the slack if one turns out weaker than we’d planned.
Step #2: Analyze the Story’s Big Picture for Pre-Editing
Some of us might be looking at the chaos of our draft and wondering if the story is salvageable. I’m of the opinion that every story can be saved, and it’s just a question of whether we’re willing to put in the work.
But before starting our revisions or edits, we might want to plan how to attack our story. There are three ways we can gather our thoughts about the big picture of our story and prepare for a revision project:
1) Take Notes of Our Initial Concerns
While the story is still fresh in our mind, we can take notes about any big-picture concerns:
- Do we know of any plot holes?
- Where do we suspect the characterization is lacking or “off”?
- Does our story start in the right place?
- Are all the scenes necessary?
- Where do we fear the pacing is slow?
2) Use a Beat Sheet to Check Story Structure
We can fill out a beat sheet and check the story structure to make sure the overall story works:
- Do we have a definitive plot event or turning point for each beat?
- Does the story’s arc show change?
- Are there any missing or misplaced beats?
- Do the beats follow a cause-and-effect chain?
- Are there any scenes not acting or reacting to a beat?
- Do the stakes increase throughout story?
3) Check for a Character Arc
Unless we intend to write a flat-arc story, we want to make sure our character experiences change. In the standard positive-arc story structure, the purpose of the plot is to reveal the character arc—how do plot events force them to change?
We can check for a character arc by comparing the beginning of the story to the end of the story:
- How is their life different?
- How have their beliefs changed?
- What’s their self-revelation?
Step #3: Start the Revision and Editing Process
Once we have a chance to gain distance from our story, we can take those notes from Step #2 and start digging in and making changes. The best approach is usually to start with the big-picture issues and work down. There’s no point getting nitpicky on word choice if the whole scene is going to be cut.
During revisions, we’d want to flesh out our themes, add depth, pump up our scenes, strengthen the character arc and plot arc, and make sure goals, conflicts, and motivations are clear. Once we’ve finished revisions, we’d move on to the editing stage and eliminate information dumps, fix show vs. tell issues, clarify settings and descriptions, and balance and strengthen character emotions. Finally, we’d polish our story.
Usually we wouldn’t start revising until after we’ve learned what we can from Steps #1 and #2. I’ve learned that if I start a revision without a plan (even just a simple checklist of issues to fix), my revisions aren’t as efficient as they could be. I tend to fix one thing and then have to go back later and tweak the fix to address another problem.
Others might be different in how they approach revisions and editing, however. The point is figuring out what works for us. Once we know that, we just have to go through our process, get feedback, and then revise and edit again. Easy-peasy, right? *wink*
What techniques worked for your processes in your latest draft? What techniques didn’t work? Do you take notes and prepare before digging into a revision? If so, do you have any suggestions to add to Step #2? If not, how do you kick off a revision and editing project? How did you do with NaNo? What obstacles did you run into?
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I flunked miserably—but I also was trying to write, work, and move long-distance (with what totaled to a full day of driving) at the selfsame time. >_>
We’re making great progress with the unpacking, so I’m hopeful it’ll be done in the next week or two, and then my friend and I can use at least some of that time for writing (which we both want to do). At least the cats are settling in okay. 🙂
I do have one book sitting in need of editing, right now, but I need to finish writing book #5 in the series and probably start the one after that before I can do that. That “book #5” was my NaNo project. I have 11k words written, and at least 40k to go. More likely 60–65k words.
*sighs and goes back to work* 🙂
Hi Carradee,
Yeeks! You definitely had a lot on your plate. I understand–my schedule has been so insane for months that I partially looked forward to NaNo for the single-minded focus. LOL! Now while everyone else is talking about relaxing post-NaNo, I’m like you: Time to get back to work. 😉
I’m glad to hear of your move though! I hope it works out well for you. Good luck with your unpacking, and thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This was my first real experience with NaNoWriMo (I’ve been a “rebel” before) and it was amazing! I did not think I could do it, and I did! It was exhilarating, stressful, fun, and most importantly, eye-opening. It blew open several myths I had about my writing process, which is incredibly valuable as I move forward. I will definitely do this again, and I can’t wait to edit in January when I have had distance and time to let my subconscious (and conscious) mind work on the novel’s many, many issues.
I wrote TWO blog posts about my experience, it was such a revelation to me. If you or your readers are curious, here’s the links (if that’s ok with you, Jami): https://mfantaliswrites.wordpress.com/2014/11/24/nano-lessons-what-i-learned-from-a-month-of-writing-really-fast-part-one/
https://mfantaliswrites.wordpress.com/2014/11/25/nano-lessons-what-i-learned-from-a-month-of-writing-really-fast-part-two/
Hi Maryanne,
Ha! I loved your analysis in your posts–thanks for sharing!
You’re absolutely right about how we fill our head with “I can’t.” I can’t get much done in this 15 minutes, so I shouldn’t bother trying. I can’t write without music. I can’t write in the car (as a passenger 😉 ). And sometimes we just don’t know until we try.
Like you, I love NaNo for that push beyond the comfort zone and learning what I can do when I allow myself to try. 🙂 Thanks for the sharing your great insights!
This is where I am right now with my draft. Sigh. I will be using your suggestions.
Hi Quinn,
At least you know you’re not alone. 😉 Good luck and thanks for stopping by!
Hi Jami, Great post! Congratulations on winning NaNo! This is the second year in a row that I’ve tried and won NaNo, and like you, I caught my characters kissing sooner than I expected. But, I only have a little over 50% of a novel this time around. I expect it to be ~80K words when complete. I fully intend to use your tips above when I’m at the point of editing. Your blog has definitely been a ‘go to’ resource for me this year. Wishing you the best! LG
Hi LG,
Yes, I’m nowhere near finished with my draft either. I’m at 51K, and I expect the complete first draft to be 85K. I’m just about to the second Pinch Point in the story structure, so I still have a lot to go. :/
Good luck finishing your story, and thanks for the kind words and the comment! 🙂
Bookmarking this for when I can bear to look at my NaNo draft! It’s going to need a loooooooot of work if it’s going to become a book 🙂
Hi Sara,
I know the feeling. 🙂 Good luck and I hope it all comes together for you. Thanks for the comment!
Hey Jami; Glad you survived the month. I haven’t done Nano since 2012, been too busy with other projects since then. I started that NaNo as a sort of Pantser. Lost most of the first week dithering about whether I should or not (didn’t find out about it till Nov. 1 when a bunch of my corespondents over at the old Anomaly started talking it up. I spent the first day after I signed up I put together a two page outline of the story I wanted to write (a near future space opera/police procedural involving an international court paramilitary rapid reaction anti-terrorist force). No I never pitched it and don’t plan to, for a while yet. Then I averaged close to 2000 words a day for the rest of the month to finish strong at the 65k mark on Nov 30. It was a haul, but you know that. Now to hopefully encourage you Nano Newbies. Two years later I’ve learned a lot about writing from my efforts to hammer that novel into shape to at very least self publish it. After numerous attempts to rewrite the first act and get it to work (my main POV told me I wrote him all wrong up till the first plot point (lingo and structure I only learned this year) and he wouldn’t go a step further until I fixed it. (the joys of pantsing our a character arc.) I banged away at it until I got sick of it. The… — Read More »
Hi Dave,
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your insights!
I agree. I’ve learned so much about writing over the years that it’s hard to believe sometimes. For me, I’ve always had a good instinct for story structure, but now I have the knowledge and tools to fix problems. That’s a good feeling. LOL! Thanks for the comment!
Oh, I’m so glad you finished despite those techie setbacks. Like you, it felt like I was pulling teeth most of the month. BUT I crossed the 50k line before the 30th and finished draft one today. Whew! I like your list of what to do next. It’s nice to know the foundation is there, and now we can make it pretty. Good luck to you!
Hi Julie,
So many writers I know who are usually draft-demons struggled this time, so at least we’re not alone. LOL!
Congratulations on finishing your first draft! No matter what, that’s something to feel good about. 🙂 Good luck with it, and thanks for stopping by!
Yikes about your computer doing that twice! 🙁 But I’m happy that you succeeded despite all that! 😀 ” Did we know enough about our characters to get into their point of view, and if not, what would have been good to know about them from the beginning? ” Oh again, you know that I never know anything about my characters before I write about them, and just get to know them as I write. I especially know my hero very, very well, so well that I managed to read the elaborate personality (Enneagrams) type descriptions and was CERTAIN which sentences fitted my hero and which didn’t, lol! So proud of myself there, since I don’t think I’ve ever known a character that thoroughly before, so this is a breakthrough! This might be because I’ve observed my hero through lots of different social scenarios already, lol. Apart from my hero, I got to meet some new minor characters during Nanowrimo time, and again, I just wrote about them without any knowledge at all, and again there was thankfully no problem. Pure blooded pantser indeed, haha. Instead, I was just very entertained and curious to get know these new minor characters as people. ” Did we have the right amount of conflict and arc planning, and if not, what should we try differently next time? ” For character arcs, I realized that character changes are not very important in my story; they are more like secondary/ side elements. The adventure plot… — Read More »
Hi Serena, I understand. For me, I feel like I “should” know a character well enough to be sure what traits would apply to them or not. However, even when I (as the author) think I know, like you, my characters really do know. 🙂 For example, during NaNo, I kept thinking a plot point was going to happen because I knew the hero was going to ask about it. But the plot went in the opposite direction from what I’d expected because the heroine absolutely refused to be involved. 🙂 So that was definitely one time when I thought I knew my characters well, but it turned out that they knew themselves better. LOL! As far as your writing style, there are some genres or styles of literary fiction that focus on friendship and family relationships–such as family sagas. And as you discovered, emotion is often the key to keeping readers engaged. Even in non-death-threat style conflicts, the interest in watching emotions develop can be engaging. 🙂 So I’m not sure if there’s an issue with your story or not, but there are many types of conflict, and I often like the term “tension” better. Conflict too often gives the impression of arguments, while tension can simply refer to reader tension as they dread or anticipate events. As you mentioned, sexual tension refers to the reader’s desire for the couple to get together. That tension is anticipation–it doesn’t mean arguments or argumentative bantering. 🙂 So maybe part of your… — Read More »
Oh my gosh yes I totally had that experience where I thought so-and-so would do such-and-such, but they did something completely different…And speaking of realistic dialogue problems, sometimes they say things that you know the readers wouldn’t like, and they DON’T say things that the readers WOULD like, lol. Too bad! The characters refuse to please the reader even if the author wants to please the reader! Haha Oh noes I want to avoid my story being labeled literary fiction, lol!! Or else some people might think it’s hardcore and has lots of profound symbolism and stuff—I have none of that; my story is more about having fun, having a laugh, and just enjoying yourself. 😀 Much much cheerier than your typical literary novel! But it’s okay to call it sort of a family saga, since my sequel series will be about the hero and heroine’s son—the next generation. 😀 😀 Btw I realized sometime ago that many writers write about unhappy characters who become happy at the end. But I tend to write about already happy characters who become even happier at the end. XD Happiness mad…But hey, there’s too much tragedy and sadness in our “real world”, so I want to read about more lighthearted and joyful things! “Watching emotions develop”…nice way of putting it! Tension: hmm for some of my happy scenes, there may not be dread because there isn’t anything as strongly negative/ ominous as that, haha. Anticipation…for sexual tension, that’s good for my couples… — Read More »
Hi Serena, Sure, if there’s hints about marriage being character or story goal, the reader will wonder about it. 🙂 As far as your anti-shipper relationship (LOL!), the disappointment issue might depend on how those hints are planted. Like, do the characters themselves want to get together and they don’t? Or do their friends want them to get together because they think these two would be perfect for each other, but the friends are wrong? It’s all about what’s established as story and character goals. For example, if the characters themselves had that as a goal, then how do they feel by the end? Are they disappointed? If so, the reader would naturally be disappointed too. But if they decide they’re okay with it because…reasons, then the reader–if they believe those reasons–would be okay with it too. 🙂 The issue with emotions about an event that aren’t tied to the future isn’t necessarily a problem about the emotions, but about the event. If the event happens in the plot (not just in summary) and doesn’t affect the story at all, then you’re veering into slice-of-life style storytelling rather than standard cause-and-effect style storytelling. It’s a valid approach, but less common–especially within genre stories. (Then again, this is your Chinese story, and those conventions and category/genre descriptions might be completely different. 🙂 ) But within western-style storytelling, you’ve probably heard the line about if you show a gun in chapter one, you’d better use it by the end of the book.… — Read More »
Thanks for your answers once again! Yeah, was that Chekhov’s gun? 😀 I’ve also heard of the Law of the Conservation of Detail, lol. In general, I think this is very good advice, though you could give SOME plot irrelevant details to develop a character or a theme, or create a mood/ atmosphere. Well from my admittedly limited experience of reading Chinese martial arts novels, it tends to be like the Western style of favoring strict cause and effect rather than episodic/ slice of life stuff. 😀 So maybe this is more of a time period difference than a cultural difference? Since these Chinese novels were all written in the 1900s, I think late 1900s too. But anyway, hey, I didn’t think of the not being linked to future events as the slice of life kind of problem before! I do have a more positive opinion of slices of life and episodics, but once I had a story that was somewhat episodic, and a very good friend of mine really disliked that style, haha; so I’m discouraged from writing like that, lol, even though she insists that I don’t need to “suck up to her”. XDD. But I do unfortunately care a lot about her opinion and want her to like my stories, lol. (So much for “not caring about what other people think”. Haha. ) A reason why slice of life/ episodics might not appeal to the modern audience could be because they are less exciting? They often flesh… — Read More »
Hi Serena,
Yep, Chekhov’s gun. 🙂 As you said, episodic/slice-of-life stories are their own animal as far as what readers would be interested.
The question is whether or not story events feel like they’re leading up to something. It does sound like you’ve done well with all those hints. Good luck to pulling this massive story together! 😀 Thanks for the comment!
Haha their own animal, nice expression.
Though I generally feel positively about reading episodic/ slice of life stuff, I do admit that I like reading plot events that actually lead somewhere later in the book more. 😀
Pulling this massive story together…Ugh yes I need that luck, lol. Thanks! Most ambitious thing I’ve done ever, haha. “Massive” is the right word! It’s still very tiny compared to A Song of Ice and Fire (GRRM) though, lol. Probably the length of my series will only be 1.5 or 2 GRRM books, and there are many books in his series, haha.
Hi Serena,
LOL! Very true. 😉
Hey again Jami; Back again to finish my earlier post, the bride’s gone to bed bed and I’m up for a snack and some writng before I Z out. As I said I was a pantser going into Nano. That outline was the first I’d ever done for a book. I’d written one previous novel length project and a bunch of short stories around it while I was learning the basics just winging it. I createed the story world while I wrote with timelines, character sketches and lists. I kind of just did it instintively based on having read Space opera by the ton up till then. When I plunged into Nano it about 10% planning and 90% dogged instinct. My outline was sparse, the major plot points (I called em hinge points at the time) and some major milestones. I’m dislecsic so I think in pictures and that saved me. Since then I’ve reworked my earlier work and manged to get a few old stories published plus some new ones. My struggles made me seek out solid references. I found Larry Brooks’ “Story Engineering” and his Story Fix blog last February just after I picked up my first Ghostrwriting contract. His comprehensive approact to structure is overhauling my approach to writing. I feel like I’m finally understanding what I need to do when and why. Then I picked up on Kristen Lamb’s blog and some of her friends. Then I found you and your friends and lo and behold,… — Read More »
Hi Dave,
This was my third NaNo, but my first non-Rebel year. So it was my first year starting a story from scratch. That was a new experience for me, but I think I would have struggled less if I’d had the time to research first (and hadn’t had the technical setbacks). All lessons for next time…
I’m a pantser because I’ve tried plotting and it doesn’t work for me, but I often have some vague ideas rolling around in my head. I love story structure (Save the Cat, Story Engineering, etc.)–hence all my beat sheets!–so I’m able to plan vaguely in line with a structure. Most pantsers who have trouble seem to struggle with an instinctual feel for structure. Once we understand structure, pantsing has a much higher chance of success. 🙂
(And it’s no surprise that Kristen and I sing the same tune–we’ve been good friends for years and share much of the same group of friends. LOL!)
You’re so right about how for many writers, NaNo can give us a sense of accomplishment that carries forward into a realization that we can do this writing thing. That’s just one of the many reasons I love NaNo. 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
This year was my first NaNoWriMo and I still can’t believe I passed the 50k with one day to spare! There’s something about that bar chart and the targets that is very motivating and reading other people’s progress on Twitter really helped. I had actually finished the story a few days earlier and had to do some serious scrabbling about to make up the numbers. Part of the issue was that my story features four alien worlds of which only one was anything close to being fully realised. One of the things I did was to write an epilogue, part of which I spliced into the last chapter so that worked out well. I’m feeling slightly conflicted as I’m happy with the point at which the story ended however, I find myself wanting to keep that epilogue. I’m not sure what to do! There were some interesting things that came up. I was without a backstory for one of the supporting characters but that sorted itself out organically and introduced a new character who it turns out is going to be pivotal to the story. I know that the structure is horrendous. Part of me feels tempted to start revising it now but I’m trying to be strong and resist it until January. It’s difficult when you’ve just bought the half price Scrivener and want to play with it! The characters need a lot of development, there’s little to differentiate between most of them at the moment. I also need… — Read More »
Hi Lara,
Woo hoo! Congratulations! 😀
I haven’t used an epilogue yet (although one of my stories has several epilogue-ish scenes), but I know many genres use them quite commonly. So I wouldn’t say that you would have to get rid of it. Especially because I think of the advice for prologues–for many stories, it would be better to just call a prologue “chapter one.” So an epilogue could be treated the same–simply call it the final chapter. 😉
Like you, I often want to dive in to revising right away. LOL! Maybe the step of making notes on things you know you want to tweak or change would help? Or as you said, doing further research and development for your characters and worlds.
I also sometimes use that “just finished” time to send my story to my alpha reader for initial feedback on the storytelling elements:
Etc., etc. It’s just a first high-level pass of whether or not I have a story. 🙂 I hope that helps. Congratulations again–have fun with it–and thanks for the comment!
Ooh no, it definitely wouldn’t work as a final chapter. It would only be a few paragraphs long and the last scene as it currently stands is the big reveal as to what’s really been happening. An epilogue could work provided it was short so as not to take anything away from the last chapter.
You’re braver than I, no one is going anywhere near this until at least the third draft!
Hi Lara,
Ah, that makes sense. In that case, I’d keep it–as an epilogue-if it helps the story. 🙂 Epilogues are allowed. LOL!
Yeah, my alpha reader is someone I trust to not judge my first draft. They’ve seen enough of my work to know what I’m capable of, so they know where to push me harder and where things will be fixed. 😉 Thanks for the comment!
Way to break down the process, Jami. I need to cross-check your list above to my fledgling one and see if I can tweak my own process.
Didn’t do NaNo this year. This year I played all month with book layouts/covers and getting my work onto the presses. Onto the next piece. Huzzah!
Happy Holidays!
Hi Clifton,
Let me know if I missed anything on my list. 🙂 Good luck with your publishing plans, and thanks for stopping by!
Congrats on your win, Jami. This is my fourth NaNo and everthing was different. I’m a panster and usually know little more than who my characters are and what the general situation is. That worked fine for the first three books.
This year I’m writing something different. I took a great course and finally understood how to plot and outline. That was a total game changer. I wrote slower but better with the outline giving me a road to follow if I needed it. This is one of the cleanest drafts I’ve ever done. I almost hit 35k at the end of November and still need to finish the book. But I consider it a win anyway. What I like about November is the push to put aside all the stuff that gets in the way of writing and just do it. Thanks for the tips on revision, they always come in handy.
Hi Page,
Yep, that’s me: a pantser who understands story structure, so I write slow but clean. I’ll take it. 😉
35K is great for experimenting with a new writing process–congratulations! And thanks for stopping by!