I’ve decided that it is time to write for no reason, and that is the first draft of a book project (new genre!). When I am writing my first draft, I allow my mind to wander, go on bunny trails, and even just randomly talk. Later on, I weed out what I want for the storyline, but during the first draft, my goal is to get words down. I used to write about my specific process when I was working with Nanowrimo, but I’ve honed how I prepare my ninety-day challenge; so here it is! The goal: Ninety days. November through February. 150,000 words (my own goal, because I used to write 50,000 words/month). Messy first draft. Six weeks of prep outlined for you, starting today—take what you will, and make the rest your own!
The Supplies
- Notebook and favorite pen. That’s right. I use a college-lined composition notebook, and when I run out of space, I duct tape a second directly behind it. I’ve written two drafts of books where I needed three (which should be released by 2028, but I digress). I write my first draft long-hand, and even if you decide not to (see bullet point #2), I love to have the brainstorming weeks in a notebook, because it gives me permission to be messy. It doesn’t feel as permanent as a complete book, or in our case, a book draft. Also, if you can’t find where you jotted down a scene, you can’t go back and edit it! Remember, the goal for this challenge is to reach our word goal, NOT to make it sound pretty!
- Computer. I know this is a given, but I am without a computer at the moment and I consider this essential if you’re going to make progress on your entire book eventually. As I said, I am actually writing my first draft long-hand, which I absolutely love. It makes me think more clearly. I feel like I’ve stepped back in time. Electricity is not a problem. However, I did calculate during a previous writing challenge that my typing was twice as fast as my writing, and talk to text was four times faster than my writing. Con for the latter, though: I did have to edit quite a lot with talk to text. I’m sure that would be the case now especially, because if you’ve followed my Instagram, you’ll have seen that I have a healing mass in the right side of my cheek (yay for modern doctors! Amazing!) that gives me a cute lisp and makes me much harder to understand! For more on that journey, click here. Choose whichever process will help you get your words written.
- Find a favorite writing spot—and go there!—at least once a week. Not only does it get you out of your head for a while, it allows you to have a new type of white noise and readjusts your brain to work outside of the box. This could look different for you than me, but I love coffee shops. Fuel and constant movement are ideal. Plus, they often air playlists that I enjoy! Your chosen place might be a library, park, or hidden corner in your house in front of the window. Use it. Enjoy it.
- Pinterest Vision Board: Really, it’s more of a digital notebook than anything, and it changes with every project, but at the beginning I include some of the following titles, and adjust throughout the first draft process. I use inspiration quotes for my calendar (see point #3), but you can decide what you’d like to read each day as you keep track of word count.
- Setting
- Prep
- Characters
- Inspirational quotes
- Editing
- Writing about (genre)
- Worldbuilding
- Books
- Spotify Playlist. Need I say more? Use this as background music for your character dialogue, songs that inspire you, or mood music for your genre. The sky’s the limit!
The Sections
>> Table of contents. I write my table of contents in the back of my notebook, which means all of my pages need titles and numbers I go through the first 50 pages or so and number only on the lower right. The rest can be done as I write. For some of my friends this numbering system would drive them crazy, because they’re writing a book, right? But it works for me, and I use A (left) and B (right) after the page number when needed. Table of contents is useful because I do not write my story in order. I do outline a little—see the next heading—but I write whatever I’m in the mood for each day. It sounds confusing but it works for me and the table of contents looks something like this when I’m ready to type up each chapter:
CH. 3………………….5,6,14,22,23,27,40
>>Thought blurbs. This is for my own sanity. I use these pages when I just need to get words out before I focus. This doesn’t necessarily need to be entire pages of journaling, but sometimes thoughts when I don’t know where to put them in my story or ideas that have nothing to do with the writing. If I do end up using it, sometimes I rewrite it under the correct section, or I underline it and write Ch. 5 in the margin. Then I can add that specific page to the table of contents (TOC) and continue with the next.
>>Spaces for each prep week. This is helpful because some days need more space (just skip and continue in TOC) for notes and thoughts, and you already have a couple blank spaces for each. Put the title at the top of the page, such as “Prep wk. 1: The Setup” and add it to the table of contents with the page number. If you don’t use it, doodle or use half a page for highlighting colors or scribbling out which pens work.
>>Movies and books for research might be one of my favorite things to put together. For me, possibilities are endless. I try to put together a mixture of research books and fiction books from the genre I’m writing. This year I’m attempting one book a week during prep. I’m sure I’ll read during writing, but I don’t want to even slightly be influenced by other authors during my first draft, so I try to read other genres than what I’m writing during November – February.
>>Calendar and word count (with quotes). I put this “after” my table of contents, working from the back of my notebook. I write “November” on one page and draw out a calendar with the year’s dates and weeks lined up. For those of you who don’t want to draw their own calendar, print and paste one. Do this for each month, on a separate page (I label these pages numbers A, B, and C). Don’t forget to write it in the table of contents. This is where I take my inspirational quotes and leave space at the bottom of each calendar square to write my word count for the day, with the total planned for the goal. If I wrote 1200 words one day and my goal up to that point in week two was 15,000, I’d write at the bottom of the square 1200/15,000. Really, treat this in a way that works best for you. I like the word count because it keeps me close to on track. As an added bonus, if there is space around the calendar, I would put monthly reflection questions on my favorite day or my goal for the next month, hardest day and why, etc. This way I’m making the recording experience meaningful and not as competitive with myself.
The Skeleton
When you’re putting your story together, you need to decide not only what your storyline is, but how you will create it. I don’t want to outline a lot because my story goes off on its own once I start writing (Pantser) so I’ve started developing a very basic outline—often wandering away from it by the end of the story— to give me an overview of something to follow when I need words. I now call myself a puzzler because I use a little bit of a planning alongside my pantsing.
I love the snowflake method (I did not develop this. I also still use bullet points, but the snowflake method is a great mixture of overview and pertinent details that I need to keep the action woven throughout while maintaining a cohesive storyline. It also keeps my brain on track when I need to write and am not concentrating. I can easily look back at my outline. As I stated before, by the time I get to the writing part, this OFTEN changes. I don’t feel pressure to follow exactly, but it absolutely helps!
I’ve written this method out in detail on this post, and I’d love to hear what you use for preparing your ideas before you write!
Until next week,
Hannah Marie.
