NaNoWriMo Support Group discussion

need help with your plot? don't got one? Well we will do our best to help out and see what we can do!

I have the opposite problem. I can make up a good plot...I just have a hard time wrapping it up lol

hahah well we can talk about that to?

Ok ;) so....shoot. I've got so many....honestly pick a genre and I pretty much have a storyline for that XD

hmmm fantasy?

Well, this one where this girl has these strange dreams about battles, but her country has never been at war for several centuries, but she dreams about ones she's never heard about. Everyone thinks she's mad, and they're so peace minded that the thought of war is unreal to them.
So anyway, long story short, invaders from across the sea come, and the kingdom is totally unprepared....but only the girl saw it comimg. Oh, and she's the princess as well lol, the youngest one.
Now, idk whether she saves the day, or this strange guy from the North does.....
If that makes sense lol

haha :) sounds cool!

Thanks! XD

The thing is, I can make main characters, and I have a theme, but I can never think of a conflict or a villian. I have 4 girls with elemental powers and the theme of nonconformity/being yourself, but a suitable conflict escapes me.

Maybe they get trapped in their element unable to take human form only for a tiny bit in the day?

No, they don't turn into their element, they just control it. And they're not hugely powerful, either. Besides, I would like to have a villian. It's necessary for the theme- you can't really talk about being yourself without someone trying to make you otherwise.

Yeah...ok, that was just a thought ;) like maybe the villain is a sorcerer who can do that or something ;)
Just brainstorm all the possible ideas you could use, or even not use. Thinking of all that will eventually turn out something ;)

Maybe the villian could be a guy one of the girls like and he tries to convince her that its better and safer to be a certain way and he is secretly.trying to take there powers? Just an idea.

A name says a lot about a character and I'm having some issues with it, that will determine the overall feel for the characters within the plot. So I have two lead males:
1. Is a new knight and the spoiled son of a Lord. The Lord is the richest and is the right hand of the king (who'll be evil later in the plot). He is arrogant and soorrt of snobby. His development through the plot is my most obvious. He becomes humbled when my lead female Izobella saves him. He still however regards himself as the most important person on this quest. He's more complex than that of course but think of him as kind of a "Boramir" type character
2. The second boy is a stable boy who has always wanted to be on an adventure and has a crush on Izobella through the first half of the novel. He turns out to be rather useless but comes into his own by the end of the first book (it's a trilogy-ish).

So I'm thinking for 1. I want to name him Edward or Alexander but that seems a little obvious
For 2. I was thinking Simon, but I don't know if I want to give him a stronger name as he comes into is own.
I need help.

1. Roland? Edgar? Bartholomew? Winston? Elias? I'm only compounding the obviousness problem, aren't I?
2. Tom? I've seen it used for characters with a similar transition.

Names. I read that it helps to ask other people who they think might have a character's name. So, what kind of person do you think might have these names?
Dandelion Minax
Deirdre Cuimilt
Eavan Eitilt
Edana Lasair
Kiran Bywyd
Zelda Laochre

Victoria, that's a good idea, but I can't write romance. Of any kind. I'm 12, here! And when I say "can't", I mean "I don't have the ability" and "I refuse to".

Thanks Abigail, that's actually really helpful. It's great to get a second opinion because you want to make sure that the feeling for the character is easily readable though their name.

As far as your character names go, this is what comes to mind for me:
Dandelion Minax sounds like a sweet girl, possibly seeming to be weak, thrown into a world of trouble.

Deirdre sounds like a stiff name, someone who likes order to everything and sort of a "rules are in place for a reason" type.

Eavan seems like an adventurous name. Someone who very curious of how things work. Someone who just can't help but "push the big red button" just to see what will happen

Edana sounds like a very motherly name, someone who wants to make sure everyone is okay and look over them. Or the exact opposite as a motherly name where it's "what I say goes" and when you ask 'why' she'd reply "Because I said so"

Kiran is totally a heart-throb-bad-boy name. That's the first thing that comes to mind.

Zelda doesn't really bring too much to mind other than video games and magic. That is the only name I would consider changing because there is too much relateable material out there I think that the reader might miss the whole point of the character.

I hope that's helpful to you.
Good Luck!
-Loudog

I've been having some trouble with my plot. It seems to go on and on with no end! I'm already at 42000 words ,but I haven't even made a dent into the real issues and conflicts of the story. In fact, the antagonist hasn't even been introduced yet, when in my mind he appeared fairly early. Does anyone have any tips to manage my monster?

Heba (on a phone so I couldn't "reply"). I know this isn't helpful for NaNo but I'd say "cut to the chase" - that is, after you've completed your 50k and you're done with the novel you may find yourself cutting out a lot of that first 42k words. As a reader, not just a writer, I know I want to get to the action! Whether it's meant to be suspenseful or romantic or action filled etc I'd say you'll want to focus on that and getting your novel there. BUT I also think that's something that can come in the editing/revision process. You may find yourself cutting out chapters even but the important part now is to press on and finish the book :) Good luck- hope this could be in some way semi-helpful ;)

Emilie wrote: "Heba (on a phone so I couldn't "reply"). I know this isn't helpful for NaNo but I'd say "cut to the chase" - that is, after you've completed your 50k and you're done with the novel you may find you..."

Now that November is over and I reached my 50,000 I was going to start editing, but I think you're right. I'll try to finish the novel and then start editing. Thanks for your help!

I agree, Emilie. Nowadays, the murder must be within the first 5 words. Then uncover the plot, the reason, the story and the moral. But I do think the theme of the book is within the first few paragraphs. We know where a writer is going by that time.

Heba wrote: "I've been having some trouble with my plot. It seems to go on and on with no end! I'm already at 42000 words ,but I haven't even made a dent into the real issues and conflicts of the story. In fact..."

NaNo is over, the pressure of writing the 50K is over too, so you can now concentrate more on the story.

What works for me is to jump ahead and write something from the middle or the end. Once this is written, I can then go back to where I was and write whatever I need in order to move my plot to that new text. I am a pantser so I don't have my whole story planned out, but what I do have is a large sheet of paper where I put in my characters and make notes on where they are and what they are doing at a certain point in time, this helps me to visualize when there is an inactive character that can be used to move the plot forward.

Something that also helps is to do a summary of what you have already written, just the basics, and show it to somebody else. Just the exercise of making the summary might be enough for you to realize what your characters are missing or where the plot is (or isn't) going.

I hope this helps.

More names! What kind of people do you think would have these names?
Dandelion Minax
Deirdre Cuimilt
Beck Cuimilt
Cassiopeia Cuimilt (Cass for short)
Clara Cuimilt
Eavan Eitilt
Aisling Eitilt
Edana Lasair
Aoife Lasair
These are all girls.
EDIT: Do you think the last name "Lasair" sounds too much like "laser", or is it okay?

Abigail wrote: "More names! What kind of people do you think would have these names?"

Dandelion Minax.- a stuck up teenager that feels that she is the center of the universe.

Cassiopeia Cuimilt (Cass for short).- a dreamy girl, someone that stares at the stars, lives in her own world and has trouble interacting with others. fair skin, bright blue eyes, shoulder length straight black hair. The eldest child.

Deirdre Cuimilt.- Popular, outgoing, friendly. Long black wavy hair, green eyes, skin a little darker than her sisters, but the same shade than Beck. the second child.

Clara Cuimilt.- the eldest daughter of the Cumilt, a helpful daughter, trustworthy, selfless. Fair skin, green eyes, auburn hair. Third child.

Beck Cuimilt.- The youngest child, playful, a little rebellious but with a good heart. likes to bother his sisters, especially Deidre, and sometimes Clara. Cass usually doesn't get annoyed, so why bother?

Eavan Eitilt.- Outgoing and good looking, not necessarily popular, but not an outcast, a normal guy with a good sense of humor. (probably has Cass infatuated or in love sith him.)

Aisling Eitilt.- Devious, resentful younger brother. Not ugly, but not as gook looking as his elder brother, Eavan, with a some pimples.

Edana... .- Misterious... some like her, some don't. some trust her, some don't. with her it's never clear what she is thinking.