Wednesday 10 February 2010

I'm A Bit Stuck

I’ve reached the 75,000 word stage and now I’ve run out of plot. I know where I want to get to but I’m not too sure how to get there.

As I’ve already mentioned, I started this novel during NaNoWriMo and have tried to carry with it since, albeit much slower.

Because I had a specific word count in November to get through each day, I decided I would write what flowed easily so I jumped from one event to another depending on how the mood took me.

The result is that I have a lot of text but also quite a few gaps and I’m not sure how to fill in those gaps.

I’ve taken a methodical approach and printed off all I have, read through it and made a list of the missing bits. Unfortunately quite a few of the missing bits read “What happens next?” which isn’t particularly helpful.

I could do with sitting down for a few days, immersing myself back in the book, and do nothing but concentrate on sorting these problems out, but unfortunately at the moment life keeps getting in the way and I have to grab my writing time in fits and starts.

Does anyone have any helpful hints on how I can start to kick start some plot solution ideas in the limited time I have available to me?

Any help would be much appreciated!


4 comments:

  1. It might be good to concentrate your mind by not looking at the manuscript, but sitting away from it with a blank piece of paper and writing a brief outline of the story you want to tell - its beginning, middle and conclusion. Its main characters, and its conflict. Maybe now is the time you linger with the characters - nanowrimo is great for quickly whacking down an idea, but it doesn't give much time to linger, and I find I only ever know what my characters want to say by giving them that space at some point to tell me. I hope that is helpful - I think one of the most useful things I have learnt is to try and remember there is no rush to finish.

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  2. Like you I began a novel in NaNoWriMo last year. I'm only at about 45,000 words, but need to chop and change lots. It's one of the things I plan to blog about when I get organised. I know exactly what you mean about writing in fits and starts. I keep thinking of short story ideas and breaking off from the novel to write the stories up while they're in my head.

    Jayne's advice above is great for me too - thanks.

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  3. Hi Jayne

    Thanks for your comments. You’re dead right in that there’s no rush to finish. I suppose I’ve become a bit obsessed with notching up that word count. Now is definitely the time to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. I know my two main characters really well so they’re not really a problem but I could do with sketching out some of the other characters a bit better.

    Also, I’m writing a novel which is set both in the present day and during WWII and is about a girl’s quest to find out her family history, so there is a bit of a mystery involved. I’ve written large sections of both parts of the novel and now I need to work out how to slot them in together. For someone who struggles a bit with plotting I’ve certainly set myself a challenge. But then I guess that’s half the fun isn’t it? Thanks for your continued support. Linda

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  4. Hi Joanne


    Thanks for dropping by my blog. I’m still pretty new to this blogging lark and it gives me a real buzz to see other people’s comments.

    I know what you mean about the short stories too, the only difference is most of mine only get half written before I run out of time and have to start something new. Then by the time I get back to them I’m not always motivated to finish them. One of my New Year’s resolutions is to actually complete things I start and remain focussed. Hence my frustration with the novel. Still as long as I keep chipping away I’ll get there in the end.

    Good luck with your own novel, and do get a blog going, its great fun.

    Linda

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