Whoever said that the second week was going to be harder than the first...they were right. Well, for a lot of the people I know. Some people are already crossing the finish line. And then there are some who aren't even close.

But now we are going onto week three. That means the first half of the month is gone and hopefully half of your novel is done, at the very least. Don't fret if you aren't, you still have the last half of the month to catch up. Just keep on writing.

How did your second week go? Do you think week three is going to be any easier?


Tracey
It's the end of week one! I hope everyone is doing well. The first week can be hard because it's the beginning of the novel. For some people, it's the hardest part to write. Did you struggle with your beginning or is now about the time when you're having issues writing. I know I am (but that is because of illness).

Some of my writing buddies told me that if you're struggling on a scene or a section of  your novel, skip it and fill in the blanks later. It works occasionally. Write the scenes you know or the ones you want to write. It will help you get further faster.

Word Wars also help. If you don't know where to find some word wars, please comment below and I will do my best to direct you to one. Or you could just use Write Or Die. It's a wonderful tool.

What is your best cure for writer's block?

Tracey
First, I'm going to start off by apologizing for not posting much. I just recently got a new job and I'm trying to get used to my schedule but I'll get the hang of it soon enough.

So, we have less than 24 hours until NaNoWriMo and there are some places who have already started. Are you ready? Do you just have a few more things to do before you're ready or do you still have so much to go? I won't lie, I fell behind in my planning. It's not my novels that I need to plan, it's my workspace that isn't prepared.

Who is staying up (or stayed up) until midnight to write?

Good luck, everyone!

Tracey
Only 6 days and some odd hours until NaNoWriMo according to the main page of the website. So in that 6 days, we all need to be prepared.

We've talked about worlds, characters, writing tools, and other stuff in the last few blog entries. Now we are going to talk about scenes and organizing them. I have several different methods for this. My main method is by using index cards - this is a pretty common method.

Index cards are pretty cheap to come by but you can always make your own. All you need is a small square/rectangle/any shaped pieces of paper to do this. You write one scene on one of those pieces and put them in a pile. Don't number them. When you are done, writing all of your scenes, spread them out on a table or the floor and look at what you have. There are some scenes that obviously have to go together but you can organize them however you want. You'll see that your story will change with every scene you move. Some plot lines are much stronger than others.

Usually after that, I either put them back in a pile from first scene to last scene, I glue them to a poster board or just tape them to the wall, or I throw them in my writing program under the storyboard function but I don't like to use the storyboard function often. It makes it a pain to click out of my window and look at the next scene. It's much easier to look over at what I have in front of my physically but this is all up to you.

There are people who list their scenes, which works for them. Some use colorful pens and markers on poster board and write all of their scenes down. They have arrows showing what scene comes next. As long as you have your scenes organized in a way that works for you, then you should be fine.

How do you go about organizing your scenes?

Tracey
How well do you know the world you are writing your novel in? Is it a modern novel? An Epic Fantasy? A completely different planet? It is important to know key facts about your world before you start a novel. You’ll need to know where your novel is going to take place and certain things about that place that are unique to it.

If you are writing general fiction for a modern setting, you’ll have to make sure that you know some things about the area you are writing about. If it’s historical fiction you will need to know what year and what was in that year so allusions won’t be present (unless allusions are part of the story).

You don’t need to know exactly how things work to begin with unless how things work pertains to your novel. Some people liked to know these things, which is okay, but some people always get so caught up in their world building that it gives them no desire to write the novel. Once they do write a novel, it can be so loaded with information that the plot disappears.

I’m the kind of writer who likes to discover my world through my writing process. Of course there are some things I need to know. Where is the novel taking place? What kind of novel am I writing? What part of this setting is going to be used the most?

There are several other questions but they all different for each novel.

Another thing you might want to know is whether or not you need a map. It’s good to know. Two years ago, I drew a map of the city I created to plot where all the bodies were found and how it was related my killer. Sometimes, maps are very helpful.

What do you usually do when world building? How much or how little do you need to have before you start writing a novel?

Tracey

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