Title by Author: No Plot? No Problem! By Chris Baty
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Publication Date: 2004
Page Count: 176 pages
Source: Amazon.com
Blurb:
You've always wanted to write, but . . . just haven't gotten around to it. No Plot? No Problem! is the kick in the pants you've been waiting for.
Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin' literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Baty's pep talks and essential survival strategies cover the initial momentum and energy of Week One, the critical "plot flashes" of Week Two, the "Can I quit now?" impulses of Week Three, and the champagne and roar of the crowd during Week Four. Whether you're a first-time novelist who just can't seem to get pen to paper or a results-oriented writer seeking a creative on-ramp into the world of publishing, this is the adventure for you.
So what are you waiting for? The No Plot? approach worked for the thousands of people who've signed up for NaNoWriMo, and it can work for you! Let No Plot? No Problem! help you get fired up and on the right track.
Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin' literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Baty's pep talks and essential survival strategies cover the initial momentum and energy of Week One, the critical "plot flashes" of Week Two, the "Can I quit now?" impulses of Week Three, and the champagne and roar of the crowd during Week Four. Whether you're a first-time novelist who just can't seem to get pen to paper or a results-oriented writer seeking a creative on-ramp into the world of publishing, this is the adventure for you.
So what are you waiting for? The No Plot? approach worked for the thousands of people who've signed up for NaNoWriMo, and it can work for you! Let No Plot? No Problem! help you get fired up and on the right track.
Review: Well, I was expecting so much more…on how to get that plot, and how to do NaNoWriMo. But instead, I got a pep talk that I didn’t really need. I need strategy! This book seemed more geared towards people who are attempting NaNoWriMo with a houseful of kids and non-understanding partners. It’s about coming up with writing groups, eating candy for a month and wearing funny hats to help you ‘focus’ on the task. There are a few tips for each week, and what has been borne out in past years by other members, and how to conquer (not really) typical traps of each week of the month.
I have paraphrased the whole book (taken the things that were memorable or the ones I want to remember) below… so only go there if you want to know what’s in the book!
Exuberant Imperfection is a theme of NaNoWriMo – ‘Exuberant Imperfection allows you to circumvent those limiting feelings entirely. It dictates that the best way to tackle daunting, paralysis-inducing challenges is to give yourself permission to make mistakes, and then go ahead and make them.’ (page 33) Basically, check your Inner Editor at the door and Go For It. Don’t Edit…Just WRITE!
If you don’t like a section, Italicize it because it still adds to your word count at the end of the month.
Scheduling is a big factor. Try for the pace of 1,667 words a day, in order to achieve the 50,000 words by the end of the month…but if you can write more in one day…go for it!
A Writing Totem – a crazy hat, fingerless gloves…something physical to get you in the zone.
Creating Two Magna Cartas – a list of all of the things you LIKE in books (for you to USE) and another list of all of the things you DISLIKE in books (to remind yourself to AVOID while writing).
There is a brief section on Characters (questions to help flesh them out) and an even briefer section on PLOT (Isn’t this in the title?) that is completely NON-HELPFUL.
Week One Tips
- Ride the Momentum
- Don’t Delete, Italicize
- Start a Novel Notes File
- Keep Your Story to Yourself
Week Two Tips
- “Don’t get it Right, Get It Written”: Making Decisions in Week Two
- The Mind is Willing, The Immune System Weak: Avoiding Pathogens and Other Enemies of Fine Literature
- The Check-In: Staying in Touch When You Don’t Have Time to Write (writing at least 500 words a days)
Week Three Tips
- Activating the 6,000 Word Jetpack Under Your Seat (on a weekend day, write 3, 30 minute spurts with ten minute breaks… three times in a day)
- Out of Sight But Not Out of Mind: Banishing the Last Traces of Your Inner Editor
Week Four Tips
- Love Your Body – take breaks, stretch
- Troll Your Novel Notes File for Forgotten Ideas
- Cross Early and Keep Writing
- When It Happens, Tell Everyone You Know
Some exercises, in case you get stuck!
- Writing in Packs and Word Wars – get together with other NaNoWriMo’s and challenge one another to see who can write the most words in an hour
- Have a nice notebook and a pack of good pens. Feel free to write on paper when you are not able to be at your desk…and count your words to add to your tally. It was even mentioned in the book that you should be ‘unplugged’ for the last part of your novel…write in a notebook.
- Character Coup – demote your hero and have someone else in the limelight for a while
- Putting Your Story on the Map – bust out the crayons and colored pencils and make a map of your story…it’s a break from writing, gets creative juices flowing and a chance to immerse yourself in the world of your story.
- Getting On Your Case – have friends and family help. Give them pen and paper or just pitch your story idea, and have them come up with plot ideas…sit back, listen, and take notes!
- Break Things – ‘It’s time to throw a party and trash the house’ (page 138) – NOT literally, though. Take one of your problem characters and have something completely unexpected happen to them! Kill one of them off, something ‘ big and reckless’ and then the creative juices should be flowing so that you can clean up your own mess!
The best part of the book was the last twenty pages, when the author goes in to what to do now, since you have crossed the finish line! Some good tips on how to edit and make it better!
- Whittling the Stump – taking a chainsaw and cutting out the really bad parts
- Trading Chainsaws for Dental Picks – go slowly on the second edit…and let your Inner Editor back in.
- The Big Picture: Finding Your Story Arc. (I liked this one, though I think it can be done separately from the two previous ones…Instead of…) Read each chapter and in the margins write down 1) the Charactera(s) and 2) the action that occurs. When you are finished doing this, write these notes down on note cards. Lay the note cards out in sequence of your current story. Decide which ones can be thrown out, and then look at the order…does it need to be changed around a bit? “Cut and paste the scenes into the right sequences, but as much as possible avoid rewriting; if you have new scenes you need to write, use descriptive placeholders for the moment. Until all your book’s pieces are in place, you don’t want to get bogged down in minutiae.” (page 168)
- Polishing Your Prose. Chances are, the writing is a little stilted since you were going for quantity and not quality. Now is the time to go through and change those clichés and dress the language up a bit.
This was a VERY quick read, and I just made it quicker!
Rating: 2 Stars
Tag: writing help, non-fiction, NaNoWriMo
