A couple of years ago, I faithfully participated in the NaNoWriMo which is what their website calls a "good old-fashioned kick in the pants you need to write the rough draft of your novel in November". That is to say, write 50,000 words by the end of the month, or approximately 1,667 words every day, each day of November.
That last almost-50,000 words I wrote ended up in a landfill in St. Catharine's - which is where it probably belonged! Those words were written years before the NaNoWriMo website, forums and the idea of pre-planning or peer support - 2009 to be precise. When November 1 arrived, I just started to write with no preparation and not a glimmer of an idea. At all. Granted, there is a certain beauty in that, but this year I decided to take what I've learned in the last five years, particularly the last 6-months, and put a plan together.
First step: What do I want to write?
- A short-short story, or "flash fiction" is defined as 100 to 500 words
- A short story is defined as 1,000 to 7,500 words
- A novelette is defined as 7,500 to 17,500 words
- A novella is defined as 17,500 to 60,000 words
- A novel is defined as 60,000 to 125,000 words
Within these guidelines the genre also determines length:
- Literary, Commercial and Women's fiction: 100,000 words
- Crime Fiction: 90,000 words
- Mysteries, Thrillers & Suspense: 70,000 for contemporary and 90,000 for historical
- Romance: Between 70,000 and 100,000 words
- Fantasy: Though often longer, 90,000 is a preferred number
- Paranormal: Tighter is better, 75,000 words
- Horror: To keep up the tension, not past 100,000 words
- Memoir: 80,000 words
- Historical: Up to 120,000 words but not much more
- Young Adult: Stay under 80,000 words
- Middle Grade: 35,000 and no more.
Keep in mind: a chapter can be any length, but since most people read around 2,000-2,500 words in 15 minutes, keep them a manageable size.
Picture books are generally 32 pages in length with less than 1,000 words.
Second step: What genre do I want to write?
Fiction Genre List
- General
- Action & Adventure
- Alternative History
- Anthologies (multiple authors)
- Biographical
- Christian
- Coming of Age
- Contemporary Women
- Crime
- Cultural Heritage
- Dystopian
- Erotica/Gay & Lesbian
- Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
- Family Life
- Family Saga
- Fantasy
- Gay
- Ghost
- Gothic
- Graphic Novels & Comics
- Historical
- Holidays
- Horror
- Humorous
- Legal
- Literary
- Magical Realism
- Medical
- Metaphysical & Visionary
- Mystery & Detective
- Noir
- Occult & Supernatural
- Political
- Psychological
- Romance
- Religious & Ethnic
- Satire
- Science
- Sea Stories
- Short Stories (multiple authors)
- Short Stories (single author)
- Sports
- Superheroes
- Thrillers
- Urban
- Visionary & Metaphysical
- War & Military
- Westerns
As for non-fiction there are oodles of choices from Antiques & Collectibles to True Crime and everything in between. For my purposes I'll be focusing on fiction, or possibly memoir, or even better a fictionalized memoir!
Third step: what do I want to express, teach, convey, explain?
I've been told to write what I read.
I like many things and it would be fascinating to see a combination of it all put together! My most favourite recent fiction books was GONE GIRL: the pacing, the character development, the story, it all came together so well. That is not to be duplicated! And yes, I will go see it in the theatre.
On my current "to read" and pre-order list:
- First Frost - I love the whimsy and characters in Sarah Addison Allen's books
- Nightbird - Alice Hoffman has a talent for making the ordinary extraordinary
- Happiness for Beginners - Katherine Center is so adept at making her audience notice the small glorious details in the day-to-day
On my "to read" pile in the basket next to my chair:
- The Rosie Effect - because The Rosie Project was brilliant - so well crafted - this is sure to please, I hope!
- Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good - oh how I love visiting the people and stories of Mitford, NC wth Jan Karon.
- What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions - fun to read in small doses!
- What I Know for Sure - it's Oprah, and though it may not be a popular opinion, I adore her
- E-Cubed: Nine More Energy Experiments That Prove Manifesting Magic and Miracles Is Your Full-Time Gig - because E-Squared was fabulous it's going to be fun to see what this
In my "keep by the bedside" pile:
- The Desire Map which teaches me new things each time I read it
- The Gifts of Imperfection an integral part of my complete transformation back to myself
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - because Maya Angelou was simply brilliant
- A Pad of Paper
- A Pencil
Even with all of that, it is often tempting to back and read the wonderful books of my past. I have recently realized were almost exclusively mysteries, from my start with Nancy Drew to the works of Scott Turow, Robert Ludlum, Ken Follet, Sue Grafton, Barbara Erskine, John Grisham, Father Andrew Greeley, Lawrence Sanders and more. Oh so many characters, stories, plots and places!
At any rate, I'm well armed with a fresh pack of post-it notes, a fully charged laptop, new multicoloured highlighters and endless resources via Google! Now, to avoid distraction and settle on an idea .....
