Why Plan for NaNoWriMo

Just imagine it.

You've spent weeks or even months being so excited for NaNoWriMo.

You've set aside time every day.

You've made it clear to everyone you love in your life that you're going on a magnificent journey and testing your mettle as a writer.

But as you sit down to write, you find that you have no idea what to put on the page.

Maybe you have some inkling of an idea, but it's not enough to start your first words.

So instead of writing on the first day, you’re paralyzed with indecision on where to start and already, you’re behind!

Don't let this be you!

A little bit of planning will make this horrible future just an anxiety.

Characters

You might think that planning your novel involves only writing plot, but that's not true.

Every little effort that you make to conceptualize your novel before it's written counts towards planning your novel in the end.

This includes things like making up your main character and all of the side characters that their paths intertwine with. 

Getting to know your characters is a huge part of planning. When you get to know your characters, you get to know one of the backbones of your story.

You come to understand better the perspective in which you'll be understanding the world that you've created.

Even if you choose not to do any other planning than just creating your characters, creating characters that are strong enough to carry scenes are essential planning.

Plot

Of course, you can always plan out your plot.

When you plan out your plot, it becomes easier to draft your novel because you're not worrying about planning every single scene as you write it.

The way that I do it: I plan out my plot just enough so that I have an idea of what going to happen in the scene that I'm going to write next so that when I get to that scene I don't have to hesitate before I begin to write it.

I can just sit down and begin.

Themes and Emotions

One last thing to consider when planning your novel is something more “nitty-gritty” than plot or character: the themes and emotions of your work.

Themes and the emotions of your work shape the very essence of it.

For example, a novel about a detective solving a murder case can be a dark crime, thriller, or horror novel… or it could be a character comedy that focuses on the flaws of the detective. 

Your genre is influenced by your themes and emotions.

Planning your themes and emotions may not be as concrete as planning your plot and your characters, but it's still essential if you're going to be thinking about your novel before you sit down to write it.

Want more tips on how to plan your novel?

Beth Barany’s Plan Your Novel Like A Pro course, provides insight and guidance into how to plan these different aspects of your novel.

In the course she walks you through planning characters, deciding on themes and emotions and what to do when you sit down to write your plot.

So that you can start your NaNoWriMo novel confident that you are prepared.

Handy links: Plan Your Novel Like A Pro course

Not sure if this course is right for you? 

Hit reply and let me know your questions and concerns.