While I like an outline myself, there are many people who prefer to discover as they write. Does that mean they don't benefit from thinking about their novel in advance? Of course not!
Here's an interesting discussion about discovery writing (most of it is a podcast):
http://www.writingexcuses.com/2010/05/16/writing-excuses-4-19-discovery-...
One thing they discuss is endings. Many discovery writers find that if they don't give some thought to the ending up front, things can drift away from them. They may also start and restart their story. Which may be fine, but it's good to know when to quit starting. (Also be sure and save your various drafts in November.)
While I like having an outline, my characters sometimes still surprise me.
Any insights, helpful tips that people want to share?
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101,608 / 50,000
Oct 14, 2010 - 12 00
Having been a discovery writer and an outliner in two different Nano years, nothing is more frustrating than forgetting what on earth the ending was. Or having no idea of an ending, being at 45,000 words and thinking, "What do I do to end this?" Any sort of resource out there definitely helps, especially if your goal is to finish a book in 50k+ words, rather than just get to 50,000 words.
For writers out there who don't heavily outline, but do tend to start with a good idea they germinate and run with, how do you tend to get to your ending? Or rather, how do you come up with the ending in advance?
----------NaNoWriMo region: Ferndale, MI | Naperville, IL
Genres: Urban contemporary; fantasy, sci-fi; speculative; historical
161,514 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2010 - 05 22
A useful technique that doesn't require an outline is to come up with lists.
Here's some list topics:
- places your character has been to
- foods your character likes
- foods your character dislikes
- books your character has read
- nice things a character has done
- bad things a character has done
You can come up with your own lists. Work on these during October. If you get stuck during NaNoWriMo, a list prompt like “Things my protagonist wants to do instead of working” may help get your story moving.