Tips for Winning NaNoWriMo from Michael Stackpole

Last night I went to my first NaNoWriMo event of ’09. Michael Stackpole of Star Wars (Dark Wing) fame was the speaker. I took 8 pages of notes. The two ladies beside me brought Alpha Smarts and their notes totaled something like 1700 and 2300 words.

At the end of the two hours I pushed my way past the surrounding throng to thank him for his excellent talk. (And, to ask if I could share some highlights on Routines for Writers today—the lengths this introvert is willing to go in order to get quality info for you guys!) Had we met at our originally planned location I would have bought him a muffin.

Michael’s talk was specifically on what to do to come out a winner with 50,000 words. Here are some highlights:

Planning Phase

Sorry Stephanie, but Michael Stockpole says an outline is a must. For NaNoWriMo it should look like this:

30 Chapter Working Outline: (you’ll write one chapter a day, 1700 words long.)

• for each chapter write a 3 sentence description

• print it out

• An outline is to a novel what a map is to a road trip. What happens is the trip (all the fun you have along the way) not the map. If your characters take you in a different direction, go with the characters. He says, generally, characters are always right.

Speaking of Characters, Stockpole stands by Characters are King.

• they are what will give you a writing career

• interesting characters make the writing fun and easier

• We must know our characters extremely well so they become internally consistent. Use character inventories and interviews. (He had a fun tip for interviews—get the latest Celeb mag and use the questions they ask the celebs. How would your characters answer?)

Blitzkrieg Characterization

Example: George was well dressed, always in church, but you wouldn’t trust him with the collection plate.

Write 2 or 3 statements that run in one direction, then write one statement that runs diametrically opposite. This creates a paradox which engages readers and keeps them reading to see if their conclusions about the character are true.

During NaNoWriMo

Stockpole says we must commit to two things:

1. Time to do the work. He thinks 2 hours each day is sufficient. He says time is not found it is made (or stolen or kidnapped). If you finish your word count before the 2 hours is up, don’t quit. Keep working. Start the next chapter.
2. Place to do the work. A separate place specifically designated for NaNo and nothing else.

To make the NaNoWriMo goal: Write each chapter in a separate file. At the end of the day, print out your pages. Never open that file again during NaNo. If you want to make a note, write it on the physical copy because you will never go back and fix “just one thing.” You want to press forward. Review your outline every night before you go to bed. Oh, and back up your files.

Let me finish with this sage advice:

There are some problems that can only be solved by a novelist. You will only be a novelist when you get to the end of the book. Then you can go back and solve the problem.

Well, folks, those are the highlights. If you’d like to hear this talk yourself you can check out Michael on Second Life on Sat, Oct 24^that 4:00 MST. Follow this link to Michael Stackpole’s website for the details (he will be posting a direct link soon). He also has a series of podcasts called “The Secrets.” Look for “21 Days to a Novel” (also as an ebook).