It’s day thirteen of the NaNoWriMo challenge. My head has been down and fingers flying over the keyboard, and now it’s time to step back and plan ahead.
My characters, setting and first act are in place, I know how it’s going to end and most of the plot elements, but in order to tell my story in a way that will engage my readers and keep them guessing but not confused or bored, I need a guideline.
I prefer a visual roadmap so outlining is not for me. In the past, I’ve used the Mary Carroll Moore W and liked its simplicity and the help it offers with ascending and descending action.
Last March I attended Alexandra Sokoloff’s workshop at Left Coast Crime and immediately bought her book, Screenwriting Tricks for Authors. The grid is more complex but Sokoloff offers lots of good tips and advice.
Most recently, I read a blog post by an author in my Sisters in Crime chapter, who draws the scenes on her storyboard. I’m not an illustrator, but I’m going to try using a combination of Sokoloff’s index card/sticky note method and include drawings of key scenes.
Who says a writer can’t be creatively organized and crank out 1700 words a day? I’m always interested in hearing what works for other writers, and would love your suggestions.
Linda Townsdin 
Reblogged this on Joshua Lisec and commented:
A tribute to all the brave souls who have undertaken National Novel Writing Month. “We who are about to [write] salute you!”
I’m doing NaNo this year for the first time and although I’m not usually a big planner, I did make an outline of what I was going to do. I’ve never thought of doing a visual story-board though. It’s an interesting idea.