Well, Preptober is on us, and for those interested in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), it is time to start gathering ideas and making plans. If you haven't signed up, yet, you might want to head over to their site, and make things official. It's free, low stress, and connects you with plenty of other authors and aspiring writers to make it worth your time.
However, if you just want to follow along with your own project, and go your own pace, inspired by all the activity, that's more than fine. This is about you, and not anyone else.
So, how do you start off Preptober? A great place is working toward an outline for your novel. Of course, you're gonna ask how to start the outlining process. Well, the first part is idea creation.
Write it Down!
You might already have an idea, or ideas. Or, maybe you're a blank slate. But now is the time to throw out the most basic building blocks to see what you're working with, and what doesn't work, at all. This includes everything from genres, setting, plot hooks, even specific scenes you must include. It doesn't have to make sense. This is exploration. We are getting ideas from our ideas.
If you are having trouble, there are a couple of things to try. Be inspired by something else. Maybe you have a favorite book, but you wished it had a different ending. Maybe you just love Westerns, and might want to try writing one. Or, you live by the beach, and just thought what it would be like if a giant squid attacked from the waters.
And, if that's not enough, you can take advantage of some new tools. The age of AI is on us. You don't have to have it write everything for you, but you can ask for ideas. In seconds, it will spit out twenty premises that you can take, improve, or reject.
Play With the Ideas
Once you have a few ideas, such as genre, setting, characters, goal, and antagonist, work with them and see how they interact. Make connections. Try to evaluate how they affect each other, are seen, and where they lead. This is still exploration, so nothing is set in stone. Don't feel like you have to keep any of these ideas. You might be lucky, and get it right the first time, but this is a process that helps you near completion. It is a journey.
But as you build out a bigger picture, you may start seeing shapes begin to form. Is this a struggle of good and evil? Friends trying to bond? A love story? All three? You might also see room for subplots, or themes, or even lessons. Do you want to realize the importance of friendship, the strength of saying no, the joy of a long adventure? Figure this out, because it forms a rubric you will judge your writing by later. Everything you do you will want to echo these basic ideas, creating a cohesive product which says more that the individual words.
The Science of Narration
When you have these original ideas, they will tell you about the story you want to write. But every story can be framed in different ways, and seen from different perspectives. Imagine the Lord of the Rings, but following Sauron's doomed search for the One Ring, his flailing attempts, the ticking clock, his near omnipotence undermined again, and again, as it all goes wrong. The same story, but very, very different.
Authors have approached the problem in a reasoned manner, and advanced many categories of narration and plot. We have things like Man vs. Man, Man against Nature, Hero Cycles, Story Cycles, and many others. You can take your own time to acquaint yourself with them. But it is helpful to understand what they are, because they give good insight into the later structure you will develop.
Think about those building blocks, and now build with a story. Adopt one of those narrative elements. Your protagonist is on a quest. Maybe it is to slay a dragon, find true love, or remember where he parked his car. Maybe your protagonist is facing temptation. His new job offers him money and power, but it is taking time from family, turning him rude and heartless, or exposing him to dark conspiracies in the shadows.
Figure it out. But choose something you like. Don't try to make it too commercial, and pick what appeals to the markets. You want to fun with this project and get it done. You don't want to lose interest halfway through because you're not connected with the story.
My Final Thoughts
This is a very basic, low level introduction to outlining. It is more a call to action, inviting you to start your process. Writing is a craft, an art, and gets better with every word of practice, errant thought, or moment of consideration. If you don't feel right at the start, struggle with your work, understand it is absolutely normal. You are growing and developing your skills. The idea is to not give up, to start the journey and take each obstacle in turn. Even if you don't get there, you will be ahead of those that never started.
Next time, we will go a little deeper.
