Help! Help!

Those are not the words I am really thinking.
A novel is new to me. Seem to be writing a lot of nonsense just to fill up the pages before the gist of the story is all over, in about four pages.
Oh well its good experience I suppose.
At least the weather is suitable for the occasion. Blowing up a storm again!

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

If this is so new to you you're bound to have these kind of things happening. Stick in there!

Jump to another character, write something from their past, their future. This is first draft material we're dealing with and it's quantity over quality. Once you've done this once you can improve on it next time. :)

No Excuses. Just Write.

What she said,

and descriptions, lots and lots of descriptions.
I like surfing the net till I find a site that fits, learning everything about say, that small town on the edge of the map over there, or the skills involved in carpet making -
and then working it into the story.

maggenpye -
"He's not my dad, he's just my father - big difference."

And remember, show, don't tell. If you say, "The man was really big." versus, "The chair creaked under the load as the man sat down on it. He was obviously used to it, and ignored the sound."

Way more words, and it's better, and more fun to read.

It isn't easy to do though, and takes some extra effort, but I think it is worth it.

Often times, when the story is over in 4 pages, you've been doing a lot of telling, after all, it's just a story about two guys out on the town (insert story here), but believe me, there have been entire novels, movies etc.. written about two guys out on the town.

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

Thanks guys for the encouragement. I have lost time having to re-do and pad more in as you say.
Its informative too, googling stuff about an event in a certain time. Lost some pages somewhere, so certainly a learning curve, and it is fun! It is surprising what you know from life's experiences.
Hailing and snowing outside, so what better way to spend the time inside. :)

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

This is hard enough as it is without re-writing. You sound like a masochist!

Let the writing in the past stay in the past and forge forward as if anything you introduce was always there... much faster and keeps your momentum.

"No Plot? No Problem!" has a tip, where if you aren't sure about some fact, you type it ALL IN CAPS, and then come back to it when you have time.

There are lots of things to move you closer to the 50,000 without losing quality.

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

Thanks cottreu, all a learning curve, back on track now, into the plot, story can now take a new direction.:)

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

Raymond Chandler's trick for writing pulp thrillers was that when ever he was stuck for an idea, he'd have a man walk through the door with a gun. Throw that in. Would be worth a lot of words, especially if your novel is set in a time or place where there aren't meant to be guns ...

I got stuck last night on what to do next. A good friend suggested ice cream. I was thinking of a bullet through the window.
Result - a tub of ice cream came through the window, so confusing it is taking quite a few words to get through.

---------------------------------
NaNo winner 2006, 2007
SocNoc winner 2007,
WWWwace 2007, 2008!!!
Easter challenge winner 2007
Body count: 1 Institute heads, 4 professors, 2 postdocs, 2 PhD students, 2 sequencing technicians and numerous bad guys...
Oh I wish I could put that on my CV.

------------------------------------

I went over an atlas and found the town furthest from an airport in Australia and had one of the characters go there.

Then I had to add in what the town is like, why he went there, why the people he met went there and so on.

Showing, not telling, of course.

It's worked so well, adding layers I'd never have guessed could be there.

maggenpye -
"He's not my dad, he's just my father - big difference."

I'm hopeless at descriptions. The way I pad things out is by explaining how the character is thinking, and how the environment around is affecting her and how...like that, really

And then, if my plot's dragging, I throw in a seduction. These are incredibly good for the wordcount. I've just written a 1k+ seduction, and I haven't even got to the seducing....

Sanity: Ha ha ha ha...look! A caterpillar!

I'm not so sure about you guys with your ideas. Today I wrote almost a page about this woman making scrambled eggs. Part of the idea was to describe the kitchen in a 1950's style. Formica benches,tables, sawing the bread with a breadknife into thick slices, fetching the butter, eggs in a bowl, and quart bottle of milk from a safe.
Also, handy for someone reading it who doesn't know how to cook scrambled eggs.Gave me the idea for lunch too!

http://gay_belle.livejournal.com

The Zing Thing: "The Makeover."

'Southern Scriber.'

Travel is always good. In a previous nano I sent my characters to Amsterdam on a whim. I raided the library for a Lonely Planet guide to Holland and found a book of pictures of Amsterdam, and I based my descriptions on that. The one person who has read that 'novel' had been to Amsterdam and said it was quite convincing. And it was woth about 20,000 words, after the live sex show and the drug smuggling ...

That's a great idea to use the Lonely Planet guide of where your characters are going.

Thanks, lurgee!

No Excuses. Just Write.

I need a lonely planet guide for Wellington 1000 years in the future. I have found a computer store. :)

Travis.
--
http://cottreau.blogspot.com
http://cottreaureviews.blogspot.com/

I need an idiot's guide to farming. I'm having to write everything that happens at that location from the point of view of the only character who didn't grow up on a farm (why oh why did these characters insist on this background!)

maggenpye -
"He's not my dad, he's just my father - big difference."