National Novel Writer&#39;s Month

x-posted in my LJ:

Here's my plot problem:

I've got 2/3 of my novel meticulously planned out. I've also got a pretty good idea what I want to have happen in the final third, just don't quite know how I'll get there yet. I've been struggling pretty hard all week trying to keep up a minimum daily word count, though I think that's not going to last much longer. I'm not sick of my novel, I'm not stuck for something to say. But I feel a very strong need to make a major plot change!

Currently, the entire action is supposed to take place in the fictional village where my MC lives, even though I have her leaving on the train to London to run some errands and coming back - while she's gone the plan is to remain in the village with the other characters. There was a reason for this, but it's sort of self-indulgently symbolic and feels silly now. But for that reason and the even greater reason that this village is just plain BORING, I really feel the need to go with my MC to London, and to take at least some of the other characters there too.

Okay no big deal, right? Wrong - all my meticulous plotting! LOL Just thinking about making this change sets my head spinning.

Oh and I have another major problem - I'd decided to frame this whole story within some short scenes from the present day depicting the finding and reading of some of my MC's letters. Those scenes have turned into a sort of mystery plot-within-a-plot that I hadn't planned on but sort of like (I know, Byatt did it better). My problem is, writing a mystery is difficult - it takes lots of thinking in order to make it work, and it's distracting me from writing the rest of it. Am I trying to do too much here??

I really feel like I'm wading up to my neck in muck right now, though that could be my sinus infection, I can't tell anymore LOL. Anyway, I think my word count is going to have to go permanently out the window while I think through these things.....

Help! Thanks.
j

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"...it takes lots of thinking in order to make it work, and it's distracting me from writing the rest of it."

What I'm doing as these situations pop up is making a note so I don't forget what I'm wanting to do/change(I change the font to red so I'll notice it later) & I'm shoving the issue aside until I'm ready for rewrites - in other words, until I'm done writing the rest.

If something requires too much thinking, it'll just slow you down for now. Since you're going to have to go back & tweak things later, there's no reason not to let those things wait (unless it's so majorly critical you have to include it now). If you're lucky, just a few sentences inserted here & there will be all you need.

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You're right at least about the mystery part. If I can get myself to stop thinking about it and put it aside, the rest can easily be worked on without being affected by whether or not there's a mystery being solved in the other part.

But the other problem, about changing the location and action of the story, has to be dealt with now, or very soon. And it's making me nuts! I could just skip the entire 2nd half of the story and write the rest, I suppose....

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Getting yourself to stop thinking about it is the hardest part. Good luck getting it all sorted out!

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shadowsonthesun.livejournal.com

Whenever I'm stuck with a scene or topic, I just write around it. Usually the problem solves itself after a while (sometimes even much sooner than I thought).

So, if you know what's going to happen next, but aren't sure how to get there, write the next part first. You might have to adapt that part when you finally come up with an idea for the stuff that happens before it, but that's never been a big problem for me. It's sure better than not writing at all because you don't know what to do!

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I think that's what I'm going to have to do - somehow - skip the plot change sections and just fudge the things that come up later that refer to it. I was going to have to work out the final 3rd of the story at some point anyway....

Thanks to you both!

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ravens-quills.livejournal.com

Questions regarding problem #1:

1. Why, according to the earlier meticulous planning, did the action have to take place in the village? What plot points need to happen there? (I'm assuming there's a plot-related reason, or changing the location wouldn't affect the plot and you would just move to London without any worries).

2. Is there a way to make those plot points work in London?

3. If not, is there a way to have two scenes of "entire action" -- one in London and one in the village?

About Problem #2:

Let your writing help you. I wrote a murder mystery in November 2005 without ever having written one before. I knew the "answer" (in my case, that was the murder-related questions: who did it, why and how), and a couple of "prime suspects" -- who the police thought did it and who I wanted to set up as a prime suspect for the reader. I didn't have any clues at all. But little things that you write in just for the heck of it because it's November and you're writing fast and have to write *something*, end up becoming significant later on. So, what I'm saying is let the letters unfold as they will, and likely it will work out. You don't need to stop *writing* the mystery parts, just stop worrying about them (I know, easier said than done). But you don't need to think about it. Your mind will make things click without any effort on your part. And if it doesn't -- that's what editing is for :)

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Thanks, you make a lot of sense. There is a plot-related reason why I wanted all the action to take place in the village - I wanted the fact that my character leaves for and returns from London so quickly and without the reader joining her there to be symbolic of her lack of freedom in the novel - we're stuck in this little village, as she is, and even when she gets out it's only for a short time and for really mundane errands. But I can replace that symbolism with something else that works better.

There's also a more important, structure-related reason. I'm writing in a stream of consciousness format that jumps from one character's head to another's in the following (supposedly seamless) way - MC encounters SC1, and we enter SC1's head. SC1 has thoughts for a while, does things, until seeing SC2 across the way, at which point we jump into SC2's head. Etc. over the course of 8 characters. Easier to keep them all in the same village if I'm going to do that.

This type of format requires a fair amount of planning if I'm going to make sure the right things happen at the right time and the right thoughts get thought at the right time. Hence, my angst over changing this aspect of things at this point in the writing process.

I think I've figured out how to do it though - I could take 2 or 3 of them to London with the MC and continue the structure that way - and return on the train where someone hears the whistle, and we jump into their head, etc. It just is going to require some re-planning.

I will give your ideas a try tomorrow - about writing the mystery part of it without worrying too much about the way it'll turn out. It will probably be a relief to just write without a meticulous plan!

thanks, and sorry to be so long-winded.
j

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ravens-quills.livejournal.com

No, that makes a lot of sense! I love seeing how other people are structuring their novel, and that sounds like a really fascinating way of structuring it! I think I'd really enjoy reading that type of narrative, and I completely understand the need for planning. I'm glad you figured out a way to make it work!

My novel is in switching first person, so I had to do a lot of advance planning, too, to make sure all the different character threads interacted at appropriate points. To avoid confusion, I *have* to stick to a formal, specific alteration (in this case it's C1, C2, C3, C1..., but I considered C1, C2, C1, C3, C1...)

Good luck!

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nwc-orca.livejournal.com

I need ideas for natural disasters that could have to do with air. Any ideas are helpful! Thanks!

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tryst-inn.livejournal.com

Tornadoes
Hurricanes
Windstorms (trees falling down)
Duststorm

Any of those help?

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Wind errosion?

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shadowsonthesun.livejournal.com

For something different than a storm:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limnic_eruption
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Nyos

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The fires here in Cali recently were very wind related. We had some crazy duststorms first, inches of dirt piling up in window sills and trees falling over and such.

Defintely hurricanes ala Katrina.

Maybe some airborne disease, like Andromeda Strain?

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I need ways a guy could get poisoned that would just gradually make him sicker & sicker until he dies - something that wouldn't be suspected by a doctor either (but that, if the poison was discontinued he'd make a full recovery).

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alison-sky.livejournal.com

injecting blood of others into his body (wierd rituals)

no, I'm not doing that currently to a character... why do you ask? *shifty eyes*

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Oh - I should clarify - a way that others could poison him without him knowing. Someone's trying to kill him without it looking like murder.

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Oh - & that's just slightly distrubing....

But wouldn't that only be bad if it's the wrong blood type?

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alison-sky.livejournal.com

yeah. better that it's demon blood. *nods* it's going to relly cause some damage, but I have it spread out so far that it won't kill him.

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Ah! Sounds cool! Good idea!

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shadowsonthesun.livejournal.com

Arsenic:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsenic_poisoning#Intentional_poisoning
http://www.portfolio.mvm.ed.ac.uk/studentwebs/session2/group12/arsenic.htm (see "Chronic poisoning")

Not sure about the _full_ recovery if treated, however.

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Thanks, I'll read up on it. The wikipedia article implies that, even if treated, he could still end up diseased & I'd rather that not happen to my poor mc. I need something that would gradually build up so I'll see if arsenic has that kind of affect.

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Would Carbon monoxide poisoning be believable?
"Common sources of CO that may lead to poisoning include house fires, furnaces or heaters, wood-burning stoves, motor vehicle exhaust, and propane-fueled equipment such as portable camping stoves...burning charcoal or other fossil fuels within a confined space"

If my guy tends to get ill easily and maybe someone purposely damages the furnace, resulting in incomplete combustion and forcing most of the fumes (including carbon monoxide) into the room rather than up the chimney?

He'd get sick because he spends so much time there but others might just get a light headache. That builds up a credible history that he's ill. Then the murder damages the furnace so it'll release a large dose & kill the guy, planning to air the room out before servants arrive in the morning. - Sound plausible? (Of course, he'll get stopped in the nick of time, etc.)

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How important is realism in your story? Could you make something up?

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Probably - it's not a fantasy but it's not reality either. It's a small twist on alternate reality, I guess. I'm really thinking about maybe doing carbon monoxide poisoning somehow...

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theperfectspy.livejournal.com

Should I show my darling introverted extrovert to the world, or let her stay peacefully inside her shop? I'm just in two minds about everything at the moment.

I don't know.

Should I show her first kinda date with the guy she's fancied since her mid-teens?

Should Cayden and Patrick fight over Tabitha in a kinda Sabrina the Teenage Witch kinda way (oh Turk, you looked so cute then)?

Should James, her imaginary friend, take over her brain and make her weird?

Ugh. Why can't I get a story forward? I was gonna make it so that the last but one chapter had Patrick in a mini accident, but it's starting to make itself a bit pivotal in my head. If he get's knocked over now (in a kinda Marty McFly in Back To The Future kinda way), Tabitha will have to admit to him pretty darn quick that she likes him, which would make the whole go out on a date plot a bit redunant (because the big thing has happened and she's got her One True Love).

But if he doesn't get run over, she'll go out, get stood up by Patrick and start dating Cayden (who she's fancied since she was old enough to fancy someone, but tried to get over, cause OMFG it was Cayden). Then there'd be the whole, 'But you stood me up' thing where there shall be twists and you realise that OH NOES! Cayden was naughty and didn't tell Patrick that they were meeting in a different pub.

And if James takes over her mind, there'd be chaos! He hates most males (the only one he can stand, I think, is Tabitha's dad, and that's only because he knows that he's not going to try and get in her pants) and does the rudest things in the most awkward places/times.

Actually, kinda liking the OH NOES! plot, but I can't write that, cause my angst is crappy, my character development is stupid, and I never can write believable love triangles. Never been in one, don't really wanna be in one.

Hm... Seems I've taken up space with my rambling of doom. Maybe I'll just have rocks fall and kill everyone. Or have Robin Hood make Achoo sheriff of the town. ('Why not? It worked in Blazing Saddles!' Sorry, couldn't resist!)

Goodnight. I need sleep. Something will come and whack my head sooner or later.

Rach xxx

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ravens-quills.livejournal.com

I think James should take over her mind :) I think that could be really intersting (*is currently writing a story where fairy tales are taking over the world*)

BUT...

If you like the OH NOES! plot better, then go with it. If you love it and are excited about it, don't worry about the angst and character development because:

1. It's probably better than you think it is and you're just really sick of your story at this point and thus are not an objective judge...

2. You can fix it during editing even if it's as horrible as you think it is.

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I have a silly question about drinking. ^^;

How many drinks (ale or beer) would take to get a 6' very fit man drunk enough to have a fairly gnarly hangover the next morning, minimum? He's fairly young, and a lightweight who doesn't really drink.

I am a very small woman and I don't care for beer/ale, hence my cluelessness!

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help. :)

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manynames.livejournal.com

It depends so much from person to person that it's impossible to give you any one definitive answer. If he isn't used to drinking at all? I'd probably give you six to ten pints as a low-range estimate, with the caveat that I'm also a very small woman, and my 6'+ very fit boyfriend is used to drinking so not too useful a guideline for you. But I've known men who are three sheets to the wind after four, and men who don't drink and can down fifteen without any noticeable affect, it varies so much.

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That's what I was afraid of. I know lots of guys that DO drink, a lot, so they've not been terribly helpful. And most of them are also fairly large.

They also asked me has he eaten, how late did he stay up, how long had he been awake, how fast did he drink... I didn't realize it'd be such a hard question. XD

Thank you very much for your response!

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manynames.livejournal.com

If it were me, I'd be tempted to gloss over how much he had. Even if he was drinking over the course of the night, you could just make sure you always wrote him with a glass in his hand.

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That's not a bad idea. I tend to overthink things. XD But I was also working with a time frame of only a few hours. Someone keeps handing him a new bottle as soon as he finishes the one in his hand. And they fed him beforehand.

It's set in the future--I suppose I could just make up a drink that's a little stronger! But beer has been around forever. I figured it'd probably still be fairly popular a few hundred years from now. :)

I probably will be less specific, like your suggestion, if it gives me fits for too long.

Thanks again! :)

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How much does he weigh?

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Good question... 180ish I think? He's a little under 6'. He's 22 and a military pilot.

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Heh, I don't know. I have this blood alcohol calculator thingy but it doesn't tell me about hangovers, only immediate effects. If he has ten drinks over a period of three hours his blood alcohol level will be .16 and he'll be woozy, feel like throwing up, and will be struggling to pay attention to the road while driving. If he has six drinks in one hour his blood alcohol level will be at .11 and he'll be over the legal limit and might feel tipsy, and swagger, and his speech might be slurred, etc.

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triumphantchaos.livejournal.com

So, I woke up this morning and discovered that my -fantasy- novel thus far has been severely lacking in conflict. (Seriously - it was the thought I woke up with. So weird @_@. And conflict's usually plentiful in this genre ;_;') I have a war planned for the second half, and my main character is going to be kidnapped in the end of the first... But I have to get some stuff in between where I am now, and the kidnapping.

My characters are walking down a road. In the middle of no where. D< I have no idea what to do. Any ideas?

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manynames.livejournal.com

Internal conflict can be just as interesting as external. Do your characters all get on? If two of them have a major argument and one of them storms off in the middle of nowhere, that would be a major source of conflict within your group.

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triumphantchaos.livejournal.com

Hmm. There's been tension building between two of them for a while now, so I suppose I could---

:D Thanks!

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