#twhrespond

Hello bretlowski,

I feel I can answer this question because I have completed two different types of nanowrimo months. The first kind was the plotter version, the second is the pantser way.

I found plotting beneficial because everyday I worked on the project, I knew the direction I was going and the “plot goals” I needed to meet. This made hitting my word count goals easier and knowing how much story I had left to meet up with words written. I also found that the final product was a story that “worked”.

The benefit of the pantser time was that I wasn’t so restricted and I was able to go where my characters wanted to take me. I also found that their voice came through more “authentic” because I wasn’t controlling them as much. The final product didn’t work but if I were to plot it and fix the holes the story would have potential and the actual line by line editing would be easier.

Without plotting I unfortunately found myself just typing without direction trying to get my word count goals up. For me plotting was a bit better.

Ways to get ready that I like:

1. Character bios and practicing random conversations with your characters to hear their voices.

2. Time accounting/Writing schedule: Nanowrimo is all about finding time to write, so for the days leading up to it, it’s a good idea to monitor how you spend your time. It helps you find the times where you are not necessarily doing something that will help you reach your goals (tv Internet) and use that as your writing time.

3. Snacks- I love getting discount Halloween candy during that month, the timing just lines up like it’s all meant to be.

4. Writing accountability group: this could be even one friend who is aware you are participating in Nanowrimo that you are accountable to. Most every city or town will have a local Nanowrimo group, connecting with others that will be going through the same thing as you, both in person or just on the Internet will help. Also be sure to check in here, or twh-Nanowrimo where you will be finding encouragement, advice, and info all month.

Happy Writing :)

Hello magniscribe,

It sounds like you are at the perfect point to work on some character questionnaires. I know you are frustrated because you are finished a second draft and in a way this seems like going backwards, but I honestly prefer to wait and get to know my characters for a few drafts before filing out their questionnaires. If you google character questionnaires many will come up. My favourite is provided via www.miniworld.com, but they are all good at helping you get to know your characters better. Because you have a few drafts under your belt you can make your next edit be a “character edit” where your focus is on letting the characters shine through now that you’ve worked out the plot et.al. You may find that they are different in the situations you’ve put them in once you get to know them.

If a character questionnaire is not your style, that’s okay, but I suggest you at least know the answers to the following as it will help you a lot:

1. Voice: What is the character’s voice? How is the way they talk influenced by their upbringing and education? I also suggest you highlight all your characters’ dialogue in different colours and read them out loud. A lot of the time we writers use the same voice for many characters which is not really realistic, unless they grew up in a highly controlled dystopian world, but even then it’s good to have slight variation.

2. Looks: How do they look and dress? This will have an effect on the characters personality and, as much as we don’t like this, it will affect how others treat them.

3. Motives: What drives your character? This will influence their goals and how they react to conflict.

4. Background: What’s their backstory. Their past will determine their present especially their fears.

5. Give them something relatable: It’s always important for the reader to feel like they can relate to the protagonist especially. I know I don’t have a lot in common with a wizard in England, but I have the same desire as HP to find my place in the world, and find my people just like him.

6. Flaws: What do they need to overcome to reach their goals? This could be crippling shyness or a stubborn personality. A good character will have a flaw that they need to overcome to ultimately reach their goal.

As a side note: I brought up Harry Potter because I’m just so excited for this Sunday/ Monday. Sunday will be Harry’s 36th birthday and Monday will be the release of the Cursed Child. My city (Calgary) is celebrating by transforming a street into Diagon Alley. Even the chocolate shop will be selling white chocolate Hedwigs, and there is a Quidditch Match. I will post pictures if I can :)

Happy Writing :)

My best advice for disorder help is to read case studies. Just google Histrionic Personality Disorder case studies and read, watch, listen to as many as you can. If you want to write a disorder accurately, you need extensive knowledge of how people are actually living with the disorder, and not just a list of symptoms. 

And I’m about to step on a soapbox (my apologies). Anon, I’m not referring to you specifically since I don’t know the specifics of your story, but I just want to say a general opinion. To me, when some writers want to write a character with a disorder, they’re not really interested in writing the disorder itself. They’re more interested in giving their protagonist an internal struggle they have to fight against, which will in turn make their journey towards their goals more difficult. 

I really dislike mental illness being used this way in fiction. I would rather it be the focus of the character’s struggle, instead of a mere obstacle that’s in their way. I don’t like mental illness being oversimplified for the sake of good fiction. 

If you’re not prepared to write the entire journey of someone that’s battling mental illness, and your only knowledge of it is from reading information about it, then I would avoid using mental illness at all. Don’t use a mental illness simply because you read about it and thought the symptoms sounded like interesting character traits. 

I googled Histrionic Personality Disorder, and here was the brief definition:

Histrionic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people act in a very emotional and dramatic way that draws attention to themselves.

If you want to write a character who is very emotional and dramatic, and often draws attention to themselves, then write a character who is those things, rather than a character who has Histrionic Personality Disorder. Often times, a writer exploring disorder in their writing is more interested in the symptoms than the treatment, and I think that needs to stop.

Again, anon, I don’t mean to direct this at you specifically, but your question (and others like it) have got me thinking about it, and I know we have many, many followers who wish to write about mental illness, so it’s a relevant issue to address. 

Questions about his identity? Perhaps not. I wouldn’t necessarily question it if who he is, is never explained. I would simply assume they were close friends and leave it at it. However, I would want questions answered about why he’s no longer in her life. If he was such a big influence on her, we wonder, “Where is he? Why can’t he be with her now? What tragedies did she go through concerning him, or did she push him away?” 

If you create this mystery of this character’s disappearance and don’t explain where he went, I would feel robbed. Because that mystery was one of the things that kept me reading and I expect to be rewarded with an answer.

You might enjoy this new one by Meg Wolitzer called Belzhar, with a similar mystery to the one you’re describing. The protagonist has “lost” her boyfriend in a seemingly traumatic way, and you don’t learn the whole story until the very end. 

I know that it can be extremely difficult, but most readers expect writers to weave necessary exposition into the narrative, rather than placing it all before the story. There is actually such a thing as too much explaining, because when you read an in depth explanation of a fictional world or concept, you start to feel like you’re reading a textbook, and you start to wonder if your enjoyment of the story will be taken away if you can’t reiterate these details word for word. If you’re persistent, you might read the exposition again, but most readers will either miss major details or skim through it, or worse - they’ll pass on your story altogether. 

Writing exposition is about knowing what details need to be shared at a particular moment in time. If you’re uncomfortable with exposition, then try writing your story without it. Assume that your reader is in your head and knows everything you know about your story and doesn’t need anything explained to them. If there’s someone you trust, let them read the scene just like this and have them make a list of questions that enter their mind as they’re reading. Then you’ll know how much explaining you need to do. 

It’s harder without that second set of eyes, but if you’d rather not let anyone read your story just yet, then try to look at what issues arise in your story that need an explanation. For example - does the origin of the superpowers affect our ability to understand and enjoy the story? Does the science behind them play a major role in your plot? Or, put more simply, would your story be the same if the superpowers were supernaturally caused? 

If science is important, you can still mention that science created the powers without going into a detailed play-by-play of how. The how can be unveiled if it becomes important later. 

If you do struggle with exposition though, I would highly recommend my first suggestion. Get someone to read it and see what confuses them, or what they want to know more about. Where we go wrong with exposition most of the time is by supplying readers with information they don’t need, or don’t even care to know. 

Forget your story has a middle. Write your outline as if the “end” comes right after your “beginning.” Or if you feel up to, write the actual story this way. Write what you have planned for the first few chapters, and then write what you have planned for the last two chapters. 

What’ll you’ll likely notice is a giant leap forward in time, and your ending may not make sense because of that. Ask yourself - why doesn’t it make sense? Did I skip over some important plot points or reveals? Do my character’s motivations seem unjustified? Are there maybe even characters I hadn’t even introduced yet that have a big role in the ending? 

Essentially, ask yourself, “Why do I need a middle? Why can’t my story stay just like this?”

And it may be that it doesn’t need a middle. Maybe what you had in mind for your beginning and your ending is enough to create a cohesive story. But if if seems abrupt or confused or a bit lost, then make a list of specific things that make this ending confusing when it comes right after your beginning. Once you have a general list, think of how your plot can solve those confusions. Then, think about what scenes you can write.

Good luck!

If you have a main character that doesn’t have a contribution - positive or negative - to the plot, that’s your cue to consider removing them. Look at your plot from start to finish, and create a timeline of key turning points and events if that helps you. Does this character’s actions create problems? Do they contribute anything to the outcome of those problems? Do they have internal conflicts of their very own? 

When I started college, I came in with a story in progress that had 5 main characters. After consulting with a professor on each character’s role, I ended up cutting down to 3. Because 2 of those character’s contributions could be reallocated to the other 3 characters. And it allowed me to develop those characters deeper and give them more “screen time,” which will encourage closer relationships of those characters with readers. 

Looking back, I agree with the decision, but at the time I only did it because my professor told me to lol. But here’s what I’ll say: you are entitled to fight for your characters. You don’t have to cut them. But you have to make sure that each one is irreplaceable. You have to be able to answer the question: Why 2 characters when 1 character will accomplish the same thing? They have to be distinct and memorable, and they have to have a role - big or small, good or bad - on the main conflict of the story. 

I hope that kind of helps. Don’t be afraid to fight for them, but be brave enough to admit when a character is nothing but window dressing, or be willing to combine your characters into one.

Before I say anything, understand that each writer has their own unique style. Some writers love dialogue, and they’ll use way more of it than other writers. For you, dialogue is the star. And adding things like narration, description, ext., will complement your dialogue. It will give it context. 

The problem with pages and pages of just dialogue in a book is that no matter how entertaining the dialogue is, it will eventually get boring. Even when you read a play, you have scene breaks and stage directions to mix things up (not to mention, plays are meant to be performed anyway). And you don’t want important details of your plot to be glossed over because your reader’s attention becomes less focused as the scene goes on. 

Start small. First follow the rule of “no talking heads.” Two characters in a scene will be moving around. Even if they’re sitting and talking, they’ll fidget, they’ll mess with their hair, touch their face, take a sip of coffee. They won’t be floating heads exchanging words. So start by adding action to your scenes of dialogue. Then, if you wish to go into more detail, you can begin to consider what your characters are thinking during the scene. 

All of this being said, it’s okay to have a page or two of naked dialogue if that’s your particular style. But do your best to experiment with other ways of communicating info to your readers. I think once you get some practice, you’ll start to have fun with things other than dialogue too, and you’ll begin to see how you can use narration and description to help support your dialogue and give your story even more life.