Collecting Ideas for Your NaNo Novel
August 22nd 2010 16:13
Every story starts with an idea. You will probably have many ideas for stories, yet you have to make sure that the idea you choose offers enough scope to span 50,000 words.
You'll need the following elements:
- a main character who wants something that the character can't easily get (if you don't have an antagonist, you could have two main characters)
- an obstacle that stands between the character and the thing she/he wants: an antagonist, an external or internal reason
- a series of events that take the main character to the thing she/he wants, but not in a direct way: at first, you have to take your character further away from it
- a few minor characters - keep the number small, though, focus most of your story around the main character and the antagonist (or the two main characters)
Ask lots of questions about your story idea. The most important ones are "what if?" and "why?", for instance: "What if character A does this?" and "How does character B react to it and why?" Answer these questions in as much detail as you can to learn about the motivations of your characters and what will happen to them because of their motivations and actions. If your answers keep leading to more questions, then you're on to a story idea that may well turn into a 50k novel.
It's never too early to think about story ideas for your novel. Write down anything that might turn into a longer story; carry a notebook around with you. Good ideas tend to be elusive and if you don't write them down as they happen, you might lose them. Spend some time reviewing your assorted ideas once a week and put them to the question test. Don't discard ideas that won't offer enough material for a novel-length story - they might serve as material for chapters and scenes. Come November, it's always an asset to have a few ideas up your sleeve in case your story dries up. In the same vein, collect a few promising story ideas in the next weeks - that will give you a choice when it comes to deciding which story to use for NaNoWriMo.
If you are totally lost for ideas, check out last year's Adopt a Plot thread from the NaNo forums.
You'll need the following elements:
- a main character who wants something that the character can't easily get (if you don't have an antagonist, you could have two main characters)
- an obstacle that stands between the character and the thing she/he wants: an antagonist, an external or internal reason
- a series of events that take the main character to the thing she/he wants, but not in a direct way: at first, you have to take your character further away from it
- a few minor characters - keep the number small, though, focus most of your story around the main character and the antagonist (or the two main characters)
Ask lots of questions about your story idea. The most important ones are "what if?" and "why?", for instance: "What if character A does this?" and "How does character B react to it and why?" Answer these questions in as much detail as you can to learn about the motivations of your characters and what will happen to them because of their motivations and actions. If your answers keep leading to more questions, then you're on to a story idea that may well turn into a 50k novel.
It's never too early to think about story ideas for your novel. Write down anything that might turn into a longer story; carry a notebook around with you. Good ideas tend to be elusive and if you don't write them down as they happen, you might lose them. Spend some time reviewing your assorted ideas once a week and put them to the question test. Don't discard ideas that won't offer enough material for a novel-length story - they might serve as material for chapters and scenes. Come November, it's always an asset to have a few ideas up your sleeve in case your story dries up. In the same vein, collect a few promising story ideas in the next weeks - that will give you a choice when it comes to deciding which story to use for NaNoWriMo.
If you are totally lost for ideas, check out last year's Adopt a Plot thread from the NaNo forums.
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