Assuming you did not kill every plant you come in contact with AND you had both the time to garden and the space for it …

What would you plant in your garden?

Continuing our journey to NaNoWriMo 2010, let’s refine our list! That’s my list off to the side there, and yes, that’s a doodle of a unicorn. You never know when that’ll come in handy. *winks*

A Note On Procrastination

You didn’t procrastinate the making of the list, did you? If you did, don’t sweat it. Start the list now.

Beware the temptation to procrastinate, though. The fact that making the list is a small, easy task should mean it’ll be quicker to be done with, not that it should be shoved to the side to deal with later. There is no such thing as “later”; it’s a myth. There is only “now”. Those of you who have already done NaNoWriMo probably don’t need this particular pep talk, but it’s valuable advice for every aspect of your life, not just writing.

It’s too easy to get so far behind that it seems a mountainous task just to catch back up and you might give up the journey before you’ve even begun. I don’t want to see that happen to you. That’s why I’m breaking down the NaNoWriMo preparation process into such small pieces. Let’s make NaNoWriMo 2010 a success together!

Back On Task

Today, we’re going to start crossing stuff off your List.

If you already KNOW which if your ideas you will develop, feel free to circle it, draw stars around it, and call it a day.

Those of you still weighing your options, don’t fret. You probably have multiple things on your list that you don’t feel like doing. It doesn’t mean they’re not worthy of being done, or that you won’t come back to them, just that they don’t have the SPARK that sets your imagination aflame.

Nothing wrong with that.

Crossing Off

Using a pen (preferably a different color than the one you wrote the ideas with), cross things off of your list . Use only a single, firm line.

Since this list is chock full of great ideas, you don’t want to obliterate them – you may want come back to them before you write NaNoWriMo this year and you  may not, but you will definitely want to keep a record of them for your Idea Box.

Read through your list. Anything you particularly like, maybe put a little dot or star next to it. Anything you don’t want to write or don’t feel like, go ahead and cross off.

There can be only more than one!

The list is made up of creative flotsam. You can smoosh items on the list to create a single idea.

Examples, taken from my list:

• An Urban Fantasy (one item from the list) about the Werewolf Librarian (another item) that is a retelling of the story of Snow White and Rose Red (a specific fairy tale I had on my list).
• A Lighthearted story (one) set within a Cowboy setting (another) using the Impertinence J. Tomcat character (yet another) that walks through the Ugly Duckling story (still another).

Leave as many up as you feel hold some fascination for you.

Narrowing Down

Narrowing down your List is a personal process and everyone goes through it a different way.

Once I hit the point where I’d gone through the list three times (yes, three) being progressively pickier about my story, I still had a lot of options left open.

That’s when I starting taking notes.

For each item on the list, I drew a line to an empty spot on the list and started noting down WHY I liked that idea. What worldbuilding did it make me think of? Did I have a character that I particularly liked in that world?

Think of yourself as a casting director for a movie or play. Each idea gets a moment in the light to plead its case, but at the end of the day, YOU have to make the decision as to the star of your show.

Any idea that stayed vague got a line through it. Any idea that I had a glimmer of a character for was allowed to stay. Any idea that I liked anyway and damn my own self-imposed rules got to stay.

Every writer has a different HOOK into their writing. Some authors are character-centric, others like worldbuilding, or plotting, a scene, or a gimmick.

Whatever methods you use to fall in love with a story idea, do it.

But, when you’re done with this exercise, you should have one (ONE!) (1) good, solid idea that you want to investigate.

You may have two, three, five, seventeen backup ideas in case this first idea fizzles on you during planning, but I highly recommend a single, solitary possibility that you plan to move forward on.

What an Idea Is Not

An idea is not a plot. An idea is not a setting, or a character, or a planned novel.

What an Idea IS

An idea is the SPARK. This is what you will use to build your novel. For some people, that spark is a scene, or a plot, or a setting, or a character, or a fully fledged book that springs forth from their minds like Athena from the forehead of Zeus.

Don’t fret if your idea feels small and fragile. Cup it to your heart and whisper to it that you love it. Assure it that you will do right by it and feed it until it is strong enough to stand on its own.

DO THIS NOW

Write down your idea. I’m a very tactile person, so I used a piece of paper.

A brand new, shiny, clean piece of paper.

Write down the keyword or short phrase that you associate with your idea.

Below that, ramble a little. You’re writing a letter to your future self here. Why do you love this idea? Why do you want to write it? What things about it did you fall in love with?

You will hate your idea before this is over. That’s okay; it’s expected. Normal. While you’re still infatuated, write a love letter to your idea so that LATER, you come back and remember.

My Idea

After sorting through my list and generally making a mess of that yellow paper, I have chosen the idea I plan on trying to develop into my NaNoWriMo novel.

My new sheet of paper says “STAINED” at the top, in big letters. Below that, I have a character outline for the girl I expect to be my narrator for the novel. Finding HER was what made me decide to go with Stained. Her gimmick, her magic power, and at least one event I want to happen as part of her character development – these are the things I love.

I wrote them down.

We’re Done

That’s it.

One week into NaNoWriMo planning and I have a character with a magic power.

It’s not much, but I love it, and I love her.

Next Week

Next week, we’ll start turning that gangly newborn filly of an idea into something that can stand on its own. We will start with worldbuilding. Even if you are writing a contemporary non-fantasy novel, you will need to do some worldbuilding. You’ll have it easier than the rest of us, but don’t scoff and skip the worldbuilding stage.

What are your favorite smells? Candle, lotion, soap, perfume, baking, natural?