Writer's Life: Did You Win NaNo? And a vlog! (Katie)

Writer's Life: Did You Win NaNoWriMo?

November is National Novel Writing Month, also known as NaNoWriMo. I've participated several times in the past but this year was the first in a long time. I really wanted to write a Christmas novel (I love, love, love the season, and while it's a painful time of year for me I always manage to find joy in the season).

Did I manage to win? Did I write that Christmas novel? Well, yes and no. I feel like I "won" in the sense that I made major progress on my story--even if I didn't finish it. I did write a Christmas novel in that the story does have a few scenes that take place over the Christmas holiday. But, it's not a "Christmas" book, exactly.

So, what about you? Did you NaNo? If so, did you win?

This month is super busy as many people are gearing up for Christmas, New Years, and other winter holidays. I made a short video about the busyness of the year and how I plan to finish my novel beyond NaNo.

Slow and Steady Can *Also* Win the Race! (Laurie)

Hi friends!

It's that time of year again, where my social media feeds swarm with word counts and work-in-progress snippets and goals met and goals to be achieved. National Novel Writing Month.

In a way, I love it. Even though I'm not participating in NaNoWriMo, I am trying to make significant progress on my current project, and on many days it's inspiring to be surrounded by so much writerly ambition. I catch the tide of that excitement to propel myself forward on my own goals, feeling like part of a team or a runner in a marathon.

Then there are the other days. The days where I was proud to write 1,500 words, only to find out that everyone else around me ("everyone else" meaning approximately three people, because that's how my brain works) wrote over 3,000. Suddenly, my progress feels insufficient, not something to take pride in. Or the days when I don't write at all, because my kid was sick or I needed to run errands or I was just too tired. But everyone else (a different three people this time) had even more going on in their busy lives than I did and still managed to exceed their word count goals for the day.

In an environment where writers are encouraged (at times to the point of pressured) to write an entire novel in one month, where readers don't want to have to wait a month, let alone a year or more, for the sequels in a series they enjoy, where sales depend on how many books an author can churn out in a short amount of time because otherwise Amazon will cause our names and products to fall off the face of the planet, I needed to reflect on this today, and I'm hoping it will be helpful to at least a few others out there, as well.

Slow and steady can *also* still win the race. Or at least finish :)

Please know that I'm not saying there's anything wrong with participating in and winning NaNoWriMo. And if you're the kind of writer who can create and release numerous quality books each year, I'm genuinely cheering you on. But that's not me. That may not be you. And that's okay.

My debut novel, Book One in my Tales of the Mystics series, was published in February, 2018. Now, a year and a half later, I'm finally getting close to finishing my first draft of Book Two. There are many reasons for that delay, which I won't get into here. But having the advice to write more and keep producing swarming around me, seeing so many authors publish multiple books while I toil away at just one, has caused this to feel like a point of shame on my journey as a writer. The whispers in my mind tell me I'm taking too long. No one will care about my book anymore if it ever even gets published. I may as well quit because I can't write fast enough to keep up.

If those same voices haunt your thoughts, tell them to take a hike! Lots of authors take years, sometimes even decades, to publish their next book. Life happens, and the reasons and process and journey looks different for each of us. I can think of several authors off the top of my head whose second or third or later book in a series is taking quite a while to reach my bookshelves. And I'm still looking forward to them! Perhaps even more so because if the author is taking the time to pull it all together well, I feel a little less worried that the series will fall apart in later books.

Most importantly, I've been reflecting on a set of e-mails I exchanged with a writer friend a few months back. She, too, was disappointed that she was completing a book years later than she'd planned. But she pointed out that she's a different person now than she was during the timeframe in which she "should've" written the book, and that without the experiences and writing practice she's had the in meantime, she couldn't have created the same book she's writing now. Think about that. The book she ended up writing is different - better - than if she'd succumbed to the pressure to write it sooner.

The same is true for the book I'm writing. And very possibly, for the book you're writing. Sometimes the pieces of a certain story won't come together until we've had additional experiences or taken a break to write other things or passed through a certain phase in life. When I reflect on the past year and a half, my life has changed in many ways, some good, some bad. I've written some pieces that fall way outside my comfort zone, like comedic flash fiction and a children's book. Now that the words of Book Two are finally flowing, they're taking the story to deeper, more complex places than I anticipated. And I don't think it's a coincidence. The second book in my series is not going to win any awards for speed or turnaround time, but I do think it's going to be a better book because of the wait.

So if you can't win NaNoWriMo, or, like me, you're too slow a writer to even consider participating, or if you ever just feel discouraged that you're not producing as quickly as the rest of the world wants you to, take heart! Without even realizing it, you're likely having experiences that will make your story richer when it's finally complete. And even if you're not or that book never gets completed, keep in mind that your growth and success along your writing journey are *not* dependent upon how many books you publish. Your worth, as a writer and as a person, is SO MUCH MORE than what you produce.

I'm going to try to do better about keeping that truth in front of me, and I hope if you struggle with similar doubts, you'll do the same!


Have you ever participated in NaNoWriMo? Do you like being surrounded by lots of writer hype, or do you sometimes fall into the comparison trap like me? Have you ever felt like one of your stories turned out better because of a delay in the writing process?


Thanks for reading!
Laurie

Top 3 Essentials for a Stress-free NaNoWriMo (KaLyn)

To NaNoWriMo or not to NaNoWriMo? 

With NaNoWriMo coming up next month, it's a hot topic around the interwebs. But not everyone has the desire to participate - and that's okay. To each, his own.

However, if you do want to participate NaNoWriMo, then I want to encourage you by sharing a few strategies for enjoying the challenge and avoiding the stress.

• Set your own goal - Challenge yourself? Yes. Push your boundaries and seek to grow as a writer? Yes. But do it in a way that works for you. You don't have to aim for 50K words in thirty days. You don't even have to focus on one writing project. You can be a Nano Rebel! Feel free to embrace the spirit of the challenge on your own terms and define a goal that works for you. 
• Connect with others - Whether you’re a plotter or a pantser, the beauty of nano is the comradery and accountability. Check out the various online and in-person opportunities to connect with other nano'ers.
• Stock up - This isn't just about snacks and writing supplies. It's also about inspiration, motivation, and fun. The point is to create an environment that infuses your writing process with joy. For me, that's coffee, notebooks, pencils, devotions, and crazy socks.

Will you be Nano'ing? If so, how do you prepare?

Don't know what NaNoWriMo is? Learn about it here: https://nanowrimo.org/about.

The End of NaNoWriMo! (Hannah)

Hi everyone!  This is just a short news post, but I was so excited I couldn't help but post it.  NaNoWriMo is over, and I officially won with less than an hour to spare.  If you remember from two days ago, my progress looked like this:

In three days, through no small amount of work, I finally pushed it just over the 50,000 word mark.

And here is my happy NaNoWriMo winner badge!

OK, enough bragging for me.  There is no way I could have done this without my family's support, especially the last couple of weeks.  Every spare minute was consumed by writing, and I have barely seen them.  They covered for my housework, helped with animal chores, and encouraged me to keep going no matter what.  This wouldn't have been possible without them.

So for my parents, thank you for everything.  Everything.  I really can't thank you guys enough.

For my siblings, thank you for covering some of my responsibilities so I have time to write and for understanding when I said "I can't do that today, I have to write."

For my extended family, thank you for all of the encouragement and support you have given me.  It has kept me going.

For Brenna, thank you for being my writing buddy, and for constantly writing more than I did so that I would be encouraged to keep going.  Congratulations on meeting your 60,000 word goal.

If you would like to read some of the other NaNoWriMo posts, please be sure to check them out here.

Have a wonderful December everyone!

~ Hannah

NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey (Hannah)

Hello, everyone!  We are just a day away from the end of November now.  Those of us who have been participating in NaNoWriMo are finishing up the last few words.  Some of us are already finished.  Others are still working furiously.  Where am I?  Well, with 38,715 words at the time of this writing (the evening of the 28th), I have a long way to go in a short amount of time.

The grey line represents where I should be if I stayed on par each day.

In the interest of getting back to writing, this post will be very short.  I'll just leave you with the lesson I learned this year.  It might surprise you, or maybe even shock you.  I'm sure you've never heard anything as radical as this.  Brace yourself, because here it is:

Procrastination is bad.

Revolutionary, isn't it?  Fine, so I'm sure everyone has heard this at some point.  Some of us (including me, obviously, from the chart above) haven't taken this lesson to heart.  Remember how on day five I admitted I hadn't written anything yet?  That trend continued until day eleven.  I had another stretch where I didn't write anything for four days in a row.  So I effectively halved the amount of time I had to write, which turned out to be a very bad idea.  I did manage to write quite a bit while family was in town for Thanksgiving, but I'm back to school now and there are a lot of demands on my time.

In sharp contrast, my friend and writing buddy this month Brenna did much better than I did.  She actually started on day one, and officially won with five days to spare.  Take inspiration from her, not me.

Brenna not only met but surpassed the target words-per-day goal nearly every day.

Can you see the difference?  She wrote just a bit every day instead of trying to cram it in like I am.  Most of the time she wrote about 2,000 words, which for most people would take around two hours.  A few days she did extra, but overall, her steady progress was more than enough to help her reach her goal.  And guess what?  She can sleep just fine tonight because she didn't save all the work for the last minute.

With three days and about 12,000 words to go, I'm not going to sleep much.

Pray for me to finish.

And please, for the sake of your stress levels and sleeping habits, remember: Procrastination is bad.

Thanks for reading!

Are you good at spreading out your commitments, or do you struggle with procrastination?  Do you have any tips for how to beat the urge to procrastinate?

~Hannah

Back to writing for me!

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This is the end of my NaNoWriMo series!  Thanks for reading, and if you are interested in any of the previous posts, make sure to check them out here:

NaNoWriMo: Write with Abandon!

NaNo Prep: Character Resources
NaNo Prep: Setting Resources
NaNo Prep: Plot Resources

NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance
NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus?
NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey

NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus? (Hannah)

We're halfway through the month of November, when most people start to slow down and face difficulty in the challenge known as NaNoWriMo.  After working diligently for the first part of the month, the self-discipline and excitement are wearing thin.  This is when distractions are most powerful.  How do you fight through the distractions to stay "in the zone?"

Here are some of my favorite techniques for staying focused.

1. Avoid Multitasking

Multitasking keeps your brain from falling into and staying in "the zone."  Travis Bach, from the fantastic writing blog "Pretentious Title," explains why multitasking is the enemy of creativity.  He did such a great job that I will just refer you to his article and let him explain it: The Science of Protecting Your Creativity.

2. Don't Self-Edit (At least not during NaNoWriMo)

This one is a bit of a no-brainer.  If you are too busy thinking about, reconsidering, and changing what you have already written, you are not making any progress toward writing anything new.  We call the critical part of your brain the "Inner Editor," and while he is one of the most essential elements in writing a good story, he must be banished for the duration of NaNoWriMo if you are to have any hope of writing 50,000 words in one month.

3. Finish Other Commitments First 

I am a problem-solver.  I am happiest when I can figure out new, brilliant ways to solve whatever dilemma I happen to be facing.  I love plot holes because the elation that comes from finding creative solutions to them is one of the best parts of writing for me.  However, there is a dark side to this focus on solving problems.  If I spend my writing time thinking about the things I need to do later, I will not be nearly as productive with the task at hand: writing.  If I save writing for last, there won't be anything else to demand my time.

4. Alternatively, Make Writing Your First Activity

Contrary to the above, sometimes you are just too tired at the end of the day to write well.  Writing early in the morning, before you do anything else, can help take advantage of the early morning energy.  Especially if you are a morning person, writing early can help infuse you with enthusiasm and productivity.

5. Write In a Place With Few Interesting Things

My "cove" as I call it, even though it is my favorite place to work, is actually terrible for me.  I have a comfy recliner under my bunk bed, beside me are several shelves full of books and items important to me, and just ahead I have a wall covered in interesting pictures and certificates.  If I run into a place where I am struggling a little with my story, my eyes automatically wander, lingering on the other things in my room.  If I were in a more boring place, I would be forced to keep focused on my story since there wouldn't be anything else of value to do.

6. Tune Out Unpredictable Noise

I love silence.  I work best in silence.  When there is silence, I can clearly hear the thoughts that constantly occupy my head.  Unfortunately, it isn't always possible to achieve perfect silence.  Maybe you have noisy family members, write in a location that is busy (a library, a coffee shop, your workplace, etc.), or have other noise-related distractions nearby.  If silence is impossible, I go for the second best: familiar instrumental music.  If I know the songs well, it is easy to dismiss them as white noise, and there aren't any words to usurp the ones that flow from my head to the paper.

7. Take Breaks

This one seems counter-intuitive, but it is actually very effective.  I am the kind of person who likes to work, work, work until I have finished whatever I am working on.  I start schoolwork in the morning and work until dinnertime, when my mom forces me to come out.  (Or at least I used to.)  This works for a while, but the truth is it leads to burnout.  Oftentimes, it is best to schedule times to relax and let your brain rest.

8. Avoid People Who Care About You

I added this one because as I write this post, I have been interrupted by my sister needing my help, my dad talking to me about whatever is interesting to him at the moment, and my mom asking what I am writing about and wondering why it isn't my novel (since it is, after all, National Novel Writing Month).  This is my fault for sitting in the living room to work, but it illustrates an important point: if you are around people who care about you, they will naturally find it difficult to completely ignore you and leave you time to write.  Remember the old maxim: "Out of sight, out of mind."  Put yourself out of sight if you value your productivity.

9. Turn Off the Internet

Probably the biggest, most insidious source of distraction is the internet.  There are so many excuses to go there, and the most dangerous one for me is "research."  I just want to look up some historical detail, and suddenly I have burned two hours reading about something completely irrelevant to the story.  Social media is a dangerous trap for many people.  One of the biggest problems for me is also what makes NaNoWriMo so great.  The forums, where thousands of people commiserate about NaNo's difficulties, discuss writing, and encourage each other, are so fun to read through that it is easy to forget about actually doing what you are supposed to do: write 50,000 words.  If you choose just one suggestion from this list, I would say pick this one.  Disabling your access to the internet will make you a much faster writer.

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So there you go!  Some of my favorite ways to fight distraction and keep writing.  What are some of your favorite ways to stay focused?  Which suggestions on this list would be most effective for you?  I would love to hear your opinion!

~ Hannah

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Thanks so much for reading!  This month, I am buried in the depths of NaNoWriMo.  If you would like to check out any of the other posts in this NaNo-related series, here they are!

NaNoWriMo: Write with Abandon!

NaNo Prep: Character Resources
NaNo Prep: Setting Resources
NaNo Prep: Plot Resources

NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance

NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus?
NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey

NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance (Hannah)

Welcome to NaNo Tips!  This is the second half of my NaNoWriMo series.  The first post introduced NaNoWriMo and shared why I love it so much and believe it can revolutionize your writing.  The next three posts shared some of the best resources I have found for improving your characters, setting, and plot.  So far, the posts have been very long and meaty.  Throughout the rest of November, I am going to conserve as much time as possible for working on my novel, so the NaNo Tips posts will be rather short.  Don't worry, I will be back to normal after NaNoWriMo is over.

I have a confession to make: It is the fifth day of NaNoWriMo and I haven't written a single word.  Why?  Life.  That insidious, malicious thing that keeps us from accomplishing our dreams.  "I'll write later," I say, "once schoolwork is done."  "I'll write when the chores are finished."  "I'll write when I'm not quite so busy with church and social events."  "I'll write when I'm not so tired."  The excuses go on and on, but at the end of the day, nothing gets written.  I'm sure you have been there.  I have big dreams, but everyday life gets in the way.

NaNoWriMo was designed to combat this very problem.  It's a challenge that makes you actually sit down and write, whether you want to or not.  You have to push through the distractions, other commitments, and the "I-don't-wannas," as my family calls them.  Find time to write and do it. (If you want some practical tips to help motivate you to keep writing, read K.M. Weiland's "7 Ways to Keep Writing During NaNo When You Only Want To Watch Football.")

"That's great," you say, but you're the one who has been talking so highly of NaNoWriMo!  Why haven't you even started yet?  If it were so great, you would have started already!"

That is a valid point.  But NaNoWriMo is like exercising.  It is hard, and often I don't want to do it.  It is so much easier to make excuses and put it off until tomorrow.  But if I constantly avoided the pain of exercising, I would never even know how wonderful it felt immediately afterward, with adrenaline pumping through your body and energy surging through you.  And I would never get to watch myself grow stronger and more capable as time went on and I stuck to my commitment.

It is the same with NaNoWriMo.  It certainly isn't easy to start or be consistent, and at first, there doesn't seem to be much reward.  It's only later, when you get caught up in the story and the words pour from your imagination like music from an instrument, that you experience the pure bliss of writing.  Once you hit this point, NaNoWriMo suddenly seems so easy, so fun, and so worthwhile.

Give your story a chance to suck you in.  Fight through the difficulty at the beginning so that your story has time to sweep you off your feet.  You won't regret it.

Have you ever struggled with summoning up the motivation to do something, even though you knew it would be worth it in the end?  What do you do when you find yourself facing a task you don't want to do?

Thanks for reading!
~ Hannah

P.S. I know I am breaking the "Top 3 on Saturday" pattern, but this post needed to be written.  Don't worry, Laurie will be back next week with another Top 3.

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Thanks so much for reading!  This month, I am busy preparing for NaNoWriMo, so I took advantage of the excuse to share some of my favorite writing tips and resources.  I hope you are enjoying it. See the bottom of the page if you would like some more worldbuilding resources. If you would like to read other related posts, see below:

NaNoWriMo: Write with Abandon!

NaNo Prep: Character Resources
NaNo Prep: Setting Resources
NaNo Prep: Plot Resources

NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance
NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus?
NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey

NaNo Prep: Top 3 Resources for Writing Characters (Hannah)

Last time I talked about NaNoWriMo, and how it can dare you to start writing.  This month, I am in a flurry of NaNo (NaNoWriMo's nickname) prep.  After all, writing 50,000 words in one month doesn't happen by accident.  Since I am doing lots of preparation and research for November, I figured I would create a three-part mini-series so I can share all of my helpful resources with you.

Some people, like me, love to plan every detail of our stories so we don't get lost in the middle wondering what on earth we were thinking when we made that decision ten chapters back.  We like to work out character, plot, and setting so that we know exactly what story we are telling, and can plan to do this as effectively as possible.  We call ourselves "plotters."  Others like to start with an idea and type away without an outline.  For them, taking the time to create a detailed outline steals the joy of creativity and discovery from writing.  They ride on inspiration and follow where the story takes them.  They call themselves "pantsers," because they write by the seat of their pants.  

As a plotter, I love to know everything about my story before I ever start writing, so I will be spending October working diligently so my writing does not derail during November, and I can be sure to hit my goal.  I hope my research turns out to be helpful to those of you who are preparing for NaNoWriMo as well!

A word of warning: this post ran much longer than usual, and is very heavy on the technical side of writing.  It is certainly not a normal Top 3s post, but don't worry - if you are not as interested in the nuances of writing characters, Elizabeth will have another great Top 3 post for you next week.

NaNo Prep: Characters

Characters are arguably the most important part of storytelling.  Setting is crucial.  Theme gives power. Plot might actually be more important than characters.  But for most people, characters make or break a story.  If readers love your characters, they will usually stick with the story no matter what.  If they dislike your characters, there is not much that will convince them to stay.

If characters are so important to the success of a story, it is critical that we as writers make sure our characters turn out right.  That's no easy task.  There are thousands of articles written on this subject, and I am happy to have found some of them.  So, without further ado, here are my top three posts on how to write fantastic and effective characters.

1. Character Arcs - K. M. Weiland

This amazing 21-part series may look incredibly intimidating at first, but K.M. explains everything in such a simple, easy-to-understand manner that also manages to dig into the heart of storytelling.  This series is not shallow in any sense, and yet the way she wrote it makes you wonder why you didn't figure it out yourself.

She presented a thorough analysis of three different types of character arc.  But what is a character arc, and why is it important?  An "arc" is simply a development, a change that occurs over time.  K.M. detailed the specifics of a particular type of story called "the hero's journey," which is all about the juxtaposition of "truth" and "lie."

The Positive Arc

First, she spent fifteen posts combing through the positive arc in depth.  In a story with a positive arc, the main character begins the story believing a "lie."  This lie can be anything.  In the movie "Thor," Thor believed a good king must be strong, aggressive, and most importantly proud.  By the end of the story in a positive arc, the character has learned to overcome the "lie" and find the "truth."  After an entire movie worth of disaster and struggle, Thor learned the value of humility, the movie's "truth."  Not all positive arcs are this blatant, though.  The "truth" can be something as simple as "think before you act," "it is not good to be too independent," or even, as is common in love triangles, the "truth" could be the correct love interest.  The possibilities are endless, the only stipulation is that the main character must become better, even just slightly, by the end of the story.

The Flat Arc

After the positive arc posts, K.M. wrote two three-post mini-series focusing on flat arcs and negative arcs.  These are similar to positive arcs.  In a flat arc, the main character begins the story already knowing the "truth," so instead of having to learn it himself, he is showing this "truth" to the world.  Captain America, also from the Marvel universe, is a great example of this - from the beginning of his first movie, he knew his truth: "it is worth it to fight and sacrifice for others."  He demonstrated this continuously by covering what he thought was a live grenade and rescuing the POWs during WWII at risk to his own life.  He never changed, which is the most important part of a flat arc: the character begins knowing the "truth," and is essentially the same at the end.

Three Types of Negative Arc

Finally, the negative arc comes in three distinct flavors.  1) Disillusionment arc - the main character begins the story believing the "lie," and at the end has learned the story's "truth" - but the truth is tragic in some way.  2) Fall arc - the main character begins believing the "lie," is presented the "truth" during the story, but ultimately rejects the "truth" and clings to his "lie."  3) Corruption arc - the character begins knowing the "truth," but is tempted away and ultimately chooses the "lie" instead.  All of these are considered negative arcs because they cause the story to end on a tragic note.

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The most useful part of each post is that it includes several questions that can help you figure out exactly how to build your story's plot off of the "truth" and "lie" that are inherent in your character.

My brief summary can barely scratch the surface of K.M.'s insight, so if you are interested in writing great character arcs, you should definitely check out her series.

2. Four Cornerstones and Four Pillars of Strong Characters - MJ Bush

MJ Bush also wrote an incredible series on writing strong characters in layers, weaving in elements that make your characters feel more realistic, more compelling, and more complex.  It is technically a ten-part series, but it is not sequential like K.M.'s series.  Instead, it covers eight integral elements of every well-rounded character:

Cornerstones:

• Fear
• Secret
• Flaw
• Quirk

These are the basics.  These form the foundation of who the character is.   What is so scary to him that he will consider doing horrible things to avoid it?  Is it having his family slaughtered?  Being rejected by everyone he cares about?  Being worthless?  What are some of the character defects that hold him back, and how can he overcome them?  Will he overcome them, or will they conquer him in the end?  It is not difficult to see how these things are important.  Even the quirk, which seems silly, is quite telling.  What are some habits and actions that define your character?  This helps readers remember him and keep him separate from every other character.

Pillars:

• Desire
• Strength
• Inner Conflict
• Theme

These are deeper than the cornerstones, but build on them.  You now know what proverbial stick will motivate your character, so you must also determine his proverbial carrot.  Is he willing to sacrifice in order to gain or achieve a particular goal?  What character qualities, skills, or abilities will allow him to reach his goal?  What doubts will cause him to second-guess himself, and most of all, what is the meaning behind the whole story?  All of these things are buried deep within your character (or should be), and MJ's series provides helpful questions and explanations to help you uncover every buried nugget of gold.

3. Characters - Dramatica

If you thought the two series above were in-depth, believe me: it gets better.  This 18,000 word behemoth from dramatica is about as in-depth as a single webpage can get.  It will take a very long time to read, if you are not intimidated by the mountain of information, but it is so worth it.  In a nutshell, the character philosophy for dramatica is built around sixteen major dramatic functions and eight major archetypes.  K.M. Weiland summarizes the archetypes very well, if you are looking for a very simplified version.

According to dramatica, there are sixteen major dramatic functions or roles characters need to fill.  One character can fill more than one role, and the character playing each role can vary from scene to scene, but for the most part, it is consistent throughout the story.  The roles are opposites of each other, as seen below:

The Sixteen Dramatic Functions

There should be a character who...

Pursues the goal -------- Avoids the goal

Helps -------- Hinders

Considers the options -------- Reconsiders the options

Uses logic -------- Uses emotion

Exhibits self-control -------- Appears uncontrolled

Appeals to conscience -------- Appeals to temptation

Supports -------- Opposes

Expresses faith -------- Expresses disbelief

It is clear to see how essential all of these elements are in a story, but they are largely invisible, with some exceptions.  Virtually every character is characterized by at least two or three of these functions, and certain pairs of functions almost always appear together.  This familiar pairing of similar roles has led to the development of eight of the most common character archetypes, seen below.  Like the functions, these characters are set up as opposites.

The Eight Major Archetypes

The Protagonist pursues and considers -------- The Antagonist avoids and reconsiders

The Guardian helps and appeals to conscience -------- The Contagonist hinders and tempts

The Sidekick supports and shows faith -------- The Skeptic opposes and shows disbelief

The Reason character uses logic and self-control -------- The Feeling character uses emotion and seems uncontrolled

The original Star Wars trilogy is an excellent example of these character archetypes.

• Protagonist: Luke
• Antagonist: Emperor Palpatine, the Empire
• Guardian: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda
• Contagonist: Darth Vader
• Sidekick: R2-D2 and C-3PO
• Skeptic: Han Solo
• Reason: Princess Leia
• Emotion: Chewbacca

The last two are less certain, but you get the idea.  These archetypes do not always show up, but are very common.  The blog How to Write a Book Now has a shorter, less in-depth, but comprehensive and very useful post that goes into much more detail than I have regarding the dramatic functions and character archetypes.

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Thanks for reading!  Like I said above, this was certainly not a normal post, so thank you for bearing with me.  If you are still interested in learning about developing complex, relatable, and compelling characters, I have listed some other fantastic resources at the bottom of the page.

If you are a writer, do some of these resources seem helpful?  Do you believe in planning a character and following the advice and direction given in series like these, or do you feel like these limit your options and force your character into the proverbial box?  Which arc does your main character have, if any?  Can you see how some of your characters fit specific dramatic functions or archetypes?

If you are not a writer, does reading about the technical side of writing make you appreciate stories more?  Can you identify character arcs in your favorite books and movies?  Do you like it when writers use the most common archetypes, or do you prefer a more unconventional distribution of dramatic functions?  I would love to hear your thoughts!

~ Hannah

NaNo Prep Resources

I will be expanding this list as I find prep resources over the next few weeks until November.  Also, don't forget to check out my NaNo Prep series throughout October, and the NaNo Tips series in November!  I will be adding links as the posts go up.

NaNo Prep: Character Resources
NaNo Prep: Setting Resources
NaNo Prep: Plot Resources

NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance
NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus?
NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey

Other Character Resources

Note, offsite links may contain a couple of minor curse words.  It is the Internet, after all.  Nevertheless, I thought these and other links were valuable enough to post anyway.

• The Five Dimensions of Character Personality
• The Addictive Power of Emotional Investment in Characters
• How to Choose the Right Antagonist
• Ways to Fill Out and Humanize Your Character
• Using Personality Type Theories to Understand Characters Unlike You

There are so many more posts on character, however.  If you want to leave a comment and recommend additions to my list, I will be happy to update it.

NaNoWriMo: Write with Abandon! (Hannah)

Now that the Relationships Beyond Romance series is over, I can finally talk about an event that has become an annual tradition for me: NaNoWriMo!  If you know other writers, you might be familiar with "NaNo."  If not, let me introduce you!

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month.  It started when twenty-one twenty-something year olds decided to try writing a novel in a month.  Seventeen years later, it is an international nonprofit that encourages people young and old, from all walks of life, to try writing a novel.  And not just try, either.

NaNoWriMo officially takes place during the month of November.  It follows two main rules.  1) In order to complete the challenge, you must write 50,000 words during the month of November, and 2) you must write a draft of a novel - no revising, no editing, no poetry, no short stories, etc.  The important element is 50,000 words.  In one month.  Not an easy task!  But don't be daunted - it is completely doable, and well worth it.

50,000 words sounds like a lot, but it only comes out to 1,667 words per day.  Most people can type around 1,000 words in an hour, so even if you work slowly, its only two hours in a day.  However, I won't lie to you - NaNoWriMo is hard.  This is a good thing.  Difficulty pushes us to grow and improve, and step outside of our comfort zones.  That is what happened to me.

My First Attempt

In 2012, I attempted my very first NaNoWriMo.  As a young teenager, I should have participated in the Young Writers Program, which is designed for students and allows you to set your own goal.  But it was my first year, and I didn't even know the Young Writers Program existed.  I did some preparation beforehand, and on the first day, I sat down at my computer to write the first words of my very first novel.

I failed.  As you can see, I barely broke 15,000 words - painfully short of my 50,000 word goal.  Despite my disappointment, I had nevertheless discovered a nugget of gold: my passion for writing.  My first foray into the world of novel writing awakened my love of novel-writing, but it had also shown me how far I had to go and what I needed to do to become the writer I wanted to be.  The next year, I spent October preparing my story: character profiles, setting descriptions, and some plot notes were right there with me for the first day of NaNo.  But more importantly, I had two intangible elements that would keep me going: the sting of defeat from the year before, and the knowledge that I loved writing. No matter what, I was determined to make 50,000.

My Second Attempt

Throughout November, my story meandered, my progress fluctuated depending on my mood, schedule, and inspiration.  Nevertheless, just hours before midnight on November 30th, I validated my word count and officially completed NaNoWriMo: I had hit 50,000 words.

I am now a five-year NaNo veteran, and it has changed me.  I am fully convinced that even if you think your story is no good, no one will ever read it, or you are not meant to be a writer, if you think there is any possibility you would like to write a story, try.  It can't hurt, right?  You might discover - like I did - that writing is something you would like to do all year long.

The beauty of NaNoWriMo is that it forces you to write with abandon.  You don't have time to agonize over word choices, contemplate your plot, edit endlessly, or worse, daydream.  Writing this quickly means you have to write whatever comes to mind.  This is often called "pantsing," or writing by the seat of your pants.  Explore new ideas!  Try new things!  See where your writing takes you.

Another benefit of having to write quickly over a long period of time is you get so caught up in the story that ideas flow like water from a broken dam.  Words pour out and sweep you along.  You know how you get so drawn into a good book that you can barely put you down and it thrills you with possibility and mystery?  Writing is like that, only it isn't someone else's story.  It's yours.  There is no feeling like being caught in your own story, and that is an experience I would recommend to anyone.

NaNo isn't just a challenge, though.  At the website, there are forums for questions, advice, procrastination, fun, and more.  There is a way to track your word count day-by-day, see how much you need to write per day to finish on time, and see a handy chart of your progress (you can see mine above).  They have a store with neat merchandise, and they have a message system so that you get pep talks and news every week.  The whole site is set up to build community and encourage participants.  You should check it out!

But Wait - There's More!

If November is a bad time for you - it is for most people, including me - there is another option.  Camp NaNoWriMo is there for you!  Camp is less rigid than the normal NaNo, and there are three great benefits:

1) It takes place during April and July, usually much less hectic months than November.
2) You get to set your own word count goal and work on any project - revision, editing, short stories, poetry, nonfiction, scripts, or anything else you can imagine.
3) You are placed into a "cabin," which is a 12-person (or fewer) mini-chatroom where you can track each other's progress and easily talk to each other.  You can choose to join a public cabin sorted by project or genre, or you can create your own private cabin and invite only your friends.  Last year, two of my friends and I had a private cabin and it was a blast.  It would be fantastic to have other blog readers join us, but I will talk more about that as Camp approaches.

If you feel like November NaNo is not for you, I would encourage you to try the more laid-back and community-focused Camp NaNo.

Why are you telling me about an event in November?  That's more than a month away!

Right... But even though NaNo officially takes place during November, many people - including me - like time to plan out what they are going to write beforehand.  Also, there are plenty of resources available throughout October for any aspiring novelist.  If you are interested in some of these, check out these links:

Note, offsite links may contain a couple of minor curse words.  It is the Internet, after all.  Nevertheless, I thought these and other links were valuable enough to post anyway.

• NaNoWriMo Prep Forum
• 30 Days of Worldbuilding
• Inspirational NaNoWriMo Stories
• How NaNoWriMo Works
• Official NaNo Prep Resources
• Outlining for NaNoWriMo - Or Any Other Month
• 6 Tasks to Check Off Your "To Do Before NaNoWriMo" List
• 7 Ways to Use NaNo to Make You a Better Writer All Year Long
• 7 Ways to Keep Writing During NaNoWriMo
• How to Win NaNo Using Doable Daily and Weekly Goals

I will be expanding this list as I find prep resources over the next few weeks until November.  Also, don't forget to check out my NaNo Prep series throughout October, and the NaNo Tips series in November!  I will be adding links as the posts go up.

NaNo Prep: Character Resources
NaNo Prep: Setting Resources
NaNo Prep: Plot Resources


NaNo Tips: Give Your Story a Chance
NaNo Tips: What Helps You Focus?
NaNo Tips: My NaNo Journey


Have you ever wanted to write a story but didn't know how to start, felt inadequate, or felt too busy?  Is NaNoWriMo a challenge you would like to attempt?  Does Camp seem like a better time to dip into the writing world?  Would you be interested in being part of a cabin with other blog members and readers?  Let us know what you think!

~ Hannah

Attributions
All images were taken from the NaNoWriMo website.