Day Thirty-One: Idea to Novel Workshop: Prepare to Write!

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Thirty-One of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. You made it! I hope you’re feeling good about your novel and are eager to dive in and get started.

If you’re starting NaNoWriMo tomorrow, take today to prepare.

Decide on Your Writing Plan

With the intensity of NaNo, it’s not uncommon for writers to change their process up a bit. Many write in libraries and coffee shops, or change locations in their homes (or workplaces) throughout the day. Think about where you’re going to do your writing and if you might like to try something new to boost productivity.

Day Thirty: Idea to Novel Workshop: Summarize Your Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Thirty of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. The only thing left to do is put all your thoughts and ideas into order.

Today, we’ll write our working synopsis.

Writing a Working Synopsis

A novel traditionally has a handful of major moments that make up the turning points of the story’s plot (the set pieces). Where they fall in the novel varies, but they usually fit within the classic, three- act story structure: beginning, middle, and ending. Within each of these three sections are common plot points that get the protagonist from Point A to Point Z.

Day Twenty-Nine: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Wrap Up

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Nine of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re, looking at how to close out your novel.

The Wrap-Up

The wrap up is the happily ever after, or the burning apocalypse—what the protagonist is going to do now that he’s resolved his problem. If there’s a moral or lesson the protagonist was supposed to learn in the story, this is a good spot to sum it up.

Day Twenty-Eight: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Climax

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Eight of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re focusing on the ending.

The Climax

The climax is the final showdown with the antagonist. The protagonist faces whomever or whatever has been making his life miserable for four hundred or so pages, and because he’s learned XYZ over the course of the novel, he wins (or loses spectacularly if that’s the type of book you’re writing). Whatever happens, the core conflict problem is resolved.

Day Twenty-Seven: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Act Three Plan

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Seven of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re kicking off the novel’s ending with the act three plan.

The Act Three Plan

After digging deep down and finding the emotional strength to continue, the protagonist puts a new plan into action, using everything he’s learned over the course of the novel. Like the act two choice, this is a conscious decision by the protagonist that will pit him against the antagonist in the climax.

Day Twenty-Six: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Act Two Disaster

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Six of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re looking at the end of act two and when things fall apart.

The Act Two Disaster

This act two disaster is the moment when it all goes wrong for the protagonist. The big plan to save the day fails miserably and he’s worse off now than he’s been the entire novel. The stakes are raised yet again, and it all becomes too much to handle.

Day Twenty-Five: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Midpoint Reversal

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Five of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re examining the middle of the novel.

The Midpoint Reversal

The midpoint reversal occurs in the middle of the novel. Something unexpected happens and changes how the protagonist (and the reader) sees the story. The plan or worldview the protagonist had all along no longer works or is no longer viable, and things have to change. This choice and new plan is what sends the plot into the second half of the middle.

Day Twenty-Four: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Act Two Choice

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Four of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re looking at the plot-driving moment that gets us to the middle of the book.

The Act Two Choice

The act two choice is a transitional moment, linking the beginning of the novel with the middle. The protagonist embraces whatever problem he’s confronted with, and accepts the opportunity it offers to resolve that problem.

Day Twenty-Three: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Act One Problem

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Three of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, it’s the end of act one and the act one problem.

The Act One Problem

After the novel opens, the protagonist encounters the inciting event, and he steps firmly on the path of the plot and eventually comes to the act one problem. The act one problem is the start of the beginning’s end. It’s when the protagonist discovers he has a big problem and needs to solve it or else. Typically, this is the result of what happened when he tried to deal with whatever problem he encountered in the inciting event.

Day Twenty-Two: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Inciting Event

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-Two of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re digging into the inciting event.

The Path to the Plot

The inciting event is the trigger that sets the rest of the plot in motion. Sometimes the inciting event is in the opening scene or chapter; other times it’s farther along in the novel. It traditionally falls somewhere between page one and thirty, or page one and fifty for longer novels.

Day Twenty-One: Idea to Novel Workshop: The Opening Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty-One of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re looking at writing a strong opening scene.

The Opening Scene

The opening scene is, of course, the way the novel opens. It usually introduces the protagonist, though sometimes an opening scene starts with the antagonist, or a bit of history instead. It shows the world and gives a taste of why the protagonist is different or special enough to ask someone to read about him. It also sums up the key points readers need to know to understand the character.

Day Twenty: Idea to Novel Workshop: Developing Your Plot

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twenty of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re taking a closer look at structure and the major turning points of the plot.

Understanding some basic story structure will make both the planning and the final plotting a lot easier. Novel structure formats offer plot turning points to aim for and provide a framework for your plot. Even if you’re a pantser, structure can help during revisions when you have a first draft done and want to make sure all your plot points are working.

Day Nineteen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Create the Most Basic of Outlines

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Nineteen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re creating a basic overview outline to get a feel for our story.

Not everyone is a fan of story structure. Some find it constricting, and others fear following a particular structure will make their novels feel formulaic.

This simple three-point process provides a basic framework to keep your story organized, without making it feel predictable or driving you crazy trying to hit specific beats.

Day Eighteen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Turning the Summary Line Into a Summary Blurb

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Eighteen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re essentially writing a query blurb (but don’t panic!). This summary blurb is a very useful tool to ensure you have all that you need to write your novel.

Day Seventeen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Turning Your Idea into a Summary Line

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Seventeen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re clarifying our idea so we know exactly what we’ll be writing.

Turn Your Idea into a Summary Line

A summary line is a one-sentence description that sums up what your idea is about in a way that also captures the key elements needed to turn that idea into a novel.

Day Sixteen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Finding Your Stakes

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Sixteen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re looking at the reason our characters are going to all the trouble of solving the novel’s problem—the stakes.

Find Your Stakes

The stakes are the motivating factors for the protagonist’s goals, and why she has to overcome those conflicts right now as opposed to whenever she gets around to it. The stakes are what happens if she doesn’t succeed. Stakes are bad. Stakes are killer. The higher the stakes, the more tension is created and the more compelling the plot. They’re the “or else” in every threat.

Day Fifteen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Discovering Your Internal Conflicts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Fifteen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, we’re heading inside our characters to discover their internal conflicts.

Discover Internal Conflict

Internal conflicts are the issues the protagonist faces on a mental or emotional level. They’re internal battles that require emotional sacrifices and tough choices that challenge a personal belief. The internal conflicts help make the external choices more difficult, as well as help create the character arc.

Day Fourteen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Discovering Your External Conflicts

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Fourteen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

There are two different kinds of conflicts every protagonist will deal with over the course of a novel—external and internal (the conflict of the plot, and the conflict of the character). These two conflicts will work together (usually by working against each other, ironically enough) to create the novel. We started thinking about conflict on Day Six, and now it’s time to flesh those conflicts out. Today, we’ll look at the external, and tomorrow we’ll focus on the internal.

Discover Your External Conflict

Conflict is at the heart of every novel. More than that really, it’s at the heart of every scene. It’s not uncommon for people to hear the word conflict and immediately assume fighting, but it’s not always violent, nor should it be. Conflict is just two things in opposition.

Day Thirteen: Idea to Novel Workshop: Determining Your Goals

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Thirteen of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. For the rest of the month, we’ll focus on plot and the major turning points of a novel.

Today, it’s all about the goals that will drive your plot.

Determine Your Goals

Goals are the driving force of the novel. The protagonist (or protagonists in multiple-point-of-view novels) wants something. Probably a lot of somethings. Some of them will be small, like finding something to eat; others will be huge, like stopping a terrorist attack on the White House. Whatever they are, these goals will determine how the protagonist acts, and that will determine how the novel unfolds.

Day Twelve: Idea to Novel Workshop: Choosing Your Setting

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Welcome to Day Twelve of Fiction University’s At-Home Workshop: Idea to Novel in 31 Days. The first twelve days will focus on developing the story and getting all the pieces in place so we can more easily plot the entire novel.

Today, we’re looking at setting.

Choose Your Setting

Where a novel takes place is just as important as who’s in it, because the setting can help determine what inherent problems (conflicts) the characters will face. Challenges in Manhattan are different from those in Montana, and neither come close to the challenges of living on a small moon off Jupiter. So even if we’re writing about a gal from Ipanema, setting plays a big role.