The Place For My Writers Notes

Original posting Nov. 1, 2010

Okay! It's the first day of nanowrimo, and at least here, it's pouring rain. Apparently we had a typhoon pass by, and mostly we ended up with lots and lots of rain. Which suggests something that you might want to toss into your nanowrimo words and words -- weather! Yes, tell us about the weather. Just like you tell your friends, it's a nice day, it's a rotten day, sunny, rainy, snow, tornadoes, typhoon, blizzards, all that good stuff that tells us how the weather is. And, as usual, don't just toss it off with a little word, show it to us. Have your character struggling with their umbrella as they try to get out of the car, and ending up with their pants leg drenched! A little bit of dismay as they realize that the seat of the car has also gotten a good soaking. At least it's not leather or anything extravagant, so it will just dry out in time.

While you're at it, you can always go over here http://community.livejournal.com/writercises/140129.html and take a look. November 1, 2008? Anyway, words from previous nanowrimo session suggesting that you pay attention to five areas to help fill in those words. Setting (remember the weather), senses (ha! What does a rainstorm smell like? How about wet jeans? Or that wonderful tactile feeling of walking in jeans with one dry leg and one wet, the odd stickyness and release of the wet side, and the comfort of the dry side?), Or maybe showing us flashbacks instead of just referring to them, making sure that even bit players have an opportunity to shine, and of course, letting your characters really reflect on things. Setting, senses, flashbacks, bit players, and reactions. When you fill those in, your word count is likely to go up! And that's what we're after for nanowrimo, word count.

It's kind of interesting how many different places I'm seeing reference to nanowrimo. Over here http://madgeniusclub.blogspot.com/2010/10/life-nanowrimo-and-just-doing-it.html Amanda Green reminds us to keep doing it. Make the time, keep at it, watch those distractions (shiny? What? Hey, I really needed to check that out on wikipedia, and then there were all those links, and I needed to check my mail, and... what was I saying? :-)

But mostly, quite sincerely, sit down. Put your hands on your keyboard (pen to paper, headset on, or whatever) and let those words flow. Tell us about your characters. Show us where they are, what they're doing, the problems they're running into and how they're going to try to get past them. Let us into their lives. All of which really means...

WRITE!

Get those words up!

Five quick suggestions to help add more words to your nanowrimo efforts.

1. Words for the setting! Take a moment and think about what's around your characters. At least put a broad sketch in, and if you want to spend some words on details, do it. You've got 50,000 or more words to play with, don't hold back. Take a look at magazine pictures, mental images, or some other visual and then write it into your story. Put your characters in a setting, and tell us about the tree standing there with green leaves like three improbable scoops of pistachio ice cream dangling in midair.

2. While you're at it, run through the other senses of your characters, too. Is it hot or cold? Do they smell something? Are there sounds from the trucks on the highway outside the bar? What about that TV mumbling CNN headlines? If they're drinking or eating, or even chewing gum, you might have some tastes. And you definitely have stiff legs and sore backs from hunching over that table talking to each other face-to-face? Keep mixing in the senses, and adding to the word count.

3. Fill in those flashbacks! Don't just say he remembered learning that in school. Go back and show us his third-grade teacher slashing at the blackboard, dropping the chalk in a puff of dust, and brushing her hands together as she turned to glare at the class. And then she called on him, and he stood up, and stuck his hands in his pockets, and... he couldn't remember the answer. But Peggy Sue hissed behind him, "It's four." And he suddenly knew just what to say.

4. Make your little characters real. Don't just have the doorman opened the door. Make it the doorman, dressed in a color-coordinated uniform suited to an imaginary servant from 100 years or more in the past, doffed his hat with one hand and reached toward the door handle with his other white-gloved hand. He gently pulled the heavy door open, bowing slightly as they walked in. Or maybe you can have the waitress do a bit of gum-popping and joking while taking the orders? Whatever, add one or two details to help your bit players stand out -- and add a few more words to the stack.

5. Reactions. As your characters stumble, fail, learn about the new complications, run into more resistance, and otherwise find out just what kind of problems they are running into, they react. Inner monologue, dialogue, maybe even journal entries -- one way or another, let your characters explore their feelings. Let them rant! Let them interpret the situation for themself, weighing the costs, thinking it through, considering what all of the alternatives are - and making their decisions. Those inner thoughts are part of what makes us feel as if we know the characters -- and add yet a few more words to the stacks.

Settings, senses, flashbacks, little characters, and interior revelations?
Make those words rumble!
tink
(about 500 words, but who's counting?)