If you won NaNoWriMo, and found time to write 50,000 words, congratulations. Please go and do something nice for yourself – you deserve it. Even if you didn’t win, don’t worry – you may have only got a few words down, but it’s the start of something. I started to write something and didn’t finish it – so I didn’t win NaNoWriMo, but I did win at something else. I planned my novel instead and I did it using the small steps I’ve been teaching to other people. I’ve always thought that the best way to learn to do something is to teach it, but this time the message really stuck.
I’ve not only planned it, but I managed to keep it simple – in the past my plans have been so complicated that I come back to them and go ‘Now what did that colour mean again?’ or ‘What is that character supposed to be thinking now?’ What I have now is a one page, crystal clear guide to writing my book. I’ve already written 45,000 words of it (not in a month, over the last year) so here’s the crucial bit: I understand what I need to do to finish the novel.
I think I will always be someone who writes first and plans later. I don’t seem to be able to help myself, but the big benefit of writing first is that I know my main character really well and I have immersed myself in the story. Combine that with a simple plan, and I understand what it’s going to take to finish the thing. This is the clearest plan I’ve had to date, and it’s all down to teaching myself the small steps method.
To celebrate the end of NaNoWriMo, I’ve done three things, just for you:
