Wednesday, October 24, 2012

NaNoWriMo: Training for the Marathon, Part 3


A major recommendation for NaNoWriMo is to plan the majority of scenes. 
 
I began by listing events, things I wanted to happen or to reveal. Then I made a chart like this and began to fill it in:
Scene
Where
Who
When
Point of scene
What happens
1






2






I knew that classic story structure requires escalating dire straits at the quarter, half, three-quarter, and end points. So I filled those in early on. I put in the rough page number I am estimating those scenes to end on. ROUGHLY, being the operative word. You can see, at this point, it’s a work-in-progress. I have a long list of events/info to get in that I need to incorporate. Fun isn’t it?
Here’s part of what I’ve done so far just to give a flavor. I am still working on it, so this may or may not be the final product. I have one more week to tinker.

Scene
Where
Who
When
Point of scene
What happens
1
Offices of I.Q. Security
Isabella
Riley
Anniversary of 6th mon. after his murder; Riley’s 42nd birthday
Intro MCs
Riley tries  to convince her he is real-just ghost-real
Intro plot point of finding his murderer

Drunken Isabella discovers Riley sitting on her desk
2
Trini’s apartment for dinner
Trini, Isabella, Bobby, and Stan
Day after Riley’s appearance
Isabella doesn’t believe Riley is a ghost; wants Stan to run a check without him knowing what it’s about; afraid her bias will change results
Stan questions why he should check but agrees to go to Radio Shack for the stuff Isabella identified from an on-line article on ghost hunting; include stuff on their backgrounds and relationships; bring up big contract they’re going for--her rationale for Stan’s check

3
Offices of I.Q. Security
Isabella
Stan
Next day, evening after work hours
Isabella finally convinced
Stan runs a check; picks up vibes he can’t id or explain; suspicious of what is going on; does some investigation on his own to uncover her reasons; have Riley there messing with the energy field and threatening to appear; Isabella torn bet wanting him to/or not

10--50 pp
Plot Pt 1
¼ point crisis




Bidding for contract at airport; underhanded tactics throw her company out of contention; bills piling up

20  100pp Midpoint Crisis




Bringing pressure to bear on Isabella to sell; loans called in; tax guy shows up; lawsuit filed against company

30 150 pp
Plot Pt 2
¾ point crisis
Offices of I.Q Security
Isabella
Riley
Bobby


They figure out that the people trying to buy her company are the ones behind a massive security breach; they killed Riley; they need proof

38




Security door breach at Terminal during testing; Riley finds it

39




Confrontation with Riley’s killer; Isabella struggles with him and shoots; self-defense but implicates FiveStar Security

40 200 pp
Resolution



Sets up there will be a next book
Riley disappears; will he return? Neither knows

For another author’s take on NaNoWriMo prep, check out Wendy Ely’s blog at http://wendyely.blogspot.com/2012/10/national-novel-writing-month-baby.html

8 days and counting!

2 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! I never even considered doing something like that...thanks for the tip!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Josie Ann. It is am amazing help to me. I have to stay on top of this or it will avalanche! The whole thing is pretty exciting, yes?

    ReplyDelete