October Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 7 Make a list of topics to research 14 Make a list of character names 21 Make a list of things that you love or draws you into a story 28 Setup your writing space for the first day 1 Decided on your genre 8 Start that research 15 Visualize your character at 3 points in the story 22 Visualize on an exciting plot twist. 29 Setup your writing software & equipment 2 Jot down ideas 9 Visualize on your story setting 16 Work on your character s development arc 23 Create a rough timeline for your story 30 Go over your notes for your story 3 Pick an idea 10 Think about ideas on how to get unstuck. 17 Collect some inspirational images, quotations, ect. 24 Create a rough timeline for your character 31 Halloween Just breathe 4 Choose a plot formula 11 Outline your top 10 scenes. 18 Expand either your synopsis or outline. 25 Outline your ending 5 Decided on your POV 12 Make plans to attend a write-in 19 Plan ways to cope with NanoWriMo stress 26 Plan out a routine & schedule for November 6 Write about what excites you about your story idea 13 Look for inspiration 20 Write about what makes you want to write about this story or characters. 27 Ask a friend about advice on your story It ain t whatcha write, it s the way atcha write it. Jack Kerouac
Ideas
Idea Rater Instructions: 1. Write your ideas in the bottom row. 2. Grade your idea on a scale of 0-3 for each criteria. 3. Color in the number of box about each idea, to indicate the TOTAL grade Top Priority - 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 Low Priority - 1 Total Grade> Potential Grade> Mission Grade> Speed Grade> Enthusiasm Grade> Ease Grade> Idea> Ease Enthuiasm Speed Mission Potential CRITERIA EASE how much effort do you feel this idea will require to bring it to fruition? ENTHUSIASM how much enthusiasm do you currently have for this idea? SPEED how quickly can you make this idea a reality? MISSION how congruous is this idea with your mission as a writer? POTENTIAL how much potential does this idea have, in terms of your goals as a writer?
Things to Consider What inspired this story? What goals do you have for this story? What are your concerns? What is the theme for this story? What or who inspires you to write? What is your time worth on this project?
Who is your ideal reader? What genres do you like? What is the genre for this story? What image of the story sticks with you so far? Which character do you like? What research do you need to conduct? Who does your character look like? Could you be best friends with your main character? Is this story a game changer for you as a writer?
Character Profile Name: Role: Age: Species: Hair Color: Eye Color: Skin Color: Relations: Residence: Needs: - Wants: Goals: Backstory: Current Situation: Enemy:
Setting Profile Time: Colors: Scents: Sounds: Urban, Rural, or Forest: Past, Present or Future: Various Locations: Who goes there? Who doesn t go there? Type of Society? What are the rules of the story world? Is there a government? Who rules the government? Is there a history? What makes it important? Does the history relate at any point with the main plot of the story?
November Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 4 6,667 11 18,333 18 30,000 25 41,667 5 8,333 12 20,000 19 31,667 26 43,333 6 10,000 13 21,667 20* 33,333 27 45,000 7 11,667 14 23,333 21 35,000 28 46,667 *If finished early you can start validating on this day. 1 1,667 8 13,333 15 25,000 22 Thanksgiving 36,667 29 48,333 2 3,334 9 15,000 16 26,667 23 38,333 30 50,000 3 5,000 10 16,667 17 28,333 24 40,000 Drafting is like painting the Golden State Bridge. The closer you get to the end, the more you start to worry about the beginning. Peter James