WriMo Ireland

With only three days to go till the start of NaNoWriMo, I thought I’d put up some tips on preparation. Hopefully they’re not too late…

Some people start with a fully outlined plot, detailed character descriptions, and a beautifully built world (real or imaginary). Let’s call them plotters.

Other people start with nothing but a vague idea. We’ll call them pantsers – as in, they’re flying by the seats of the pants. (Fliers is also an acceptable term.)

Most of us fit somewhere in between. We’ve had our great idea, we’ve made some notes, we’ve had a few bright ideas about our main character and some other potentials…

You can start NaNoWriMo as any one of these three: a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in between. But in general, those who have a clear idea of where they’re going with their novel are more likely to stay the course.

So as a minimum, try and decide on the following before the start of November – but don’t be afraid to change your mind if you need to!

• How you’re going to start.
• What a possible end might be.
• How you want your main character to change during the story.
• Whether you’re writing in first or third person, past or present tense, with a linear plot or by jumping about between scenes.

Good luck!