I am not ready to commit to NaNoWriMo 2018 just yet, but I do have a plan to follow, should I decide to do so. Here it is:
- Have a plan
- This is to say, not only have an idea, but have a story ready and planned out in advance
- Planning means outlining. Outlining the whole thing. Even the ending.
- Choose the writing program to be used
- Current candidates: WriteMonkey, Scrivener, Atomic Scribbler, iA Writer
- Develop a proper save/backup scheme that won’t result in corrupted files and a sad author
- Do more testing of dictation to help speed up the first draft process
- Write 50,000 words in 30 days between November 1-30, 2018
This concludes my plan.
I’ve highlighted the most important part in bold.
Winging in–called pantsing by NaNoWriMo folks–has not just failed for me in past attempts, it’s failed spectacularly. See my 2017 summary for an example. This year I am going to outline my story in advance. If I don’t have this done by November 1, I will not take part. Instead I will post an amusing cat picture on this blog that is somehow writing-related. Maybe I’ll do that, anyway.
Tomorrow I’ll post some of the story ideas I’m mulling.
