NaNoWriMo 2013 Preparation

I decided to get serious about plot, rather than just pantsing-it completely. I transferred the handy chart I got at GenCon to my bulletin board. And noted the troublesome spot where my plots commonly end up.

Plot Prep for NaNo

The chart is from the “Fiction Fundamentals Part 1: Plotting and Planning” led by Lawrence Connolly & William Horner III, which I got a lot out of.

I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to work on my past novel until it’s done or noodle on one of the other two ideas I’ve got, but I figure I’ll try to get real outlines in place for all three before I start and decide which feels best.

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My Gen Con Writer’s Symposium Schedule

I think I’m probably a bit over-scheduled for GenCon this coming weekend – I’m signed up for these writing workshops and seminars. I’m thinking my brain is going to be pretty fried if I attempt to do all of this, so I’ll probably skip out on some of them strategically. Fortunately they’re all in the same area of the convention center, so getting from one to another will be easy. And I can take some breaks and visit the Exhibit Hall.

WKS1345344 (Fiction Fundamentals Part 1: Plotting and Planning on Thu at 08:00 AM – 3 hours)
SEM1345352 (Writer’s Craft: Don’t Tell Your Story, Show It! on Thu at 12:00 PM)
WKS1345347 (Writer’s Craft: The Structure of Scenes on Thu at 01:00 PM)
SEM1345249 (Writer’s Craft: Should You Plot or Not? on Thu at 03:00 PM)
SEM1345063 (Writer’s Craft: Literary Alchemy on Thu at 05:00 PM)

WKS1345345 (Fiction Fundamentals Part 2: Creating Scenes on Fri at 08:00 AM – 3 hours)
SEM1345260 (Business of Writing: Career Building on Fri at 12:00 PM)
SEM1345351 (Writer’s Craft: Point of View – What is the point? on Fri at 01:00 PM)
WKS1345348 (Writer’s Craft: Tension on Every Page on Fri at 03:00 PM)
SEM1345264 (Writer’s Craft: Novel Outlines on Fri at 04:00 PM)

WKS1345346 (Fiction Fundamentals Part 3: Putting on the Polish on Sat at 08:00 AM – 3 hours)
SEM1345284 (Exploring Genres: Urban Fantasy on Sat at 11:00 AM)
WKS1345350 (Writer’s Craft: Schrödinger’s Plot on Sat at 01:00 PM)
SEM1345301 (Writer’s Craft: Screenwriting for Novelists on Sat at 02:00 PM)

IN scoping out photos of previous year’s events, it looks like they don’t provide tables in the writer’s workshops, which is a little frustrating. It seems like a little thing but when you’re sitting in seminars all day, having a table for your laptop is a world of difference in convenience. I can’t imagine not taking my laptop, but without tables… I guess I’ll have to see. I hate taking notes by hand anymore.

I missed out on the Midwest Writer’s Workshop this year, but I’m planning to attend next year. I hope I’ll have my novel done by then, and a good start on a second one.

GenCon 2010

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