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Index
Cover
Title
Dedication
Copyright
Contents
Preface to the Revised, Updated, and Expanded Edition
Introduction
Bookish Hooligans
A Month at Sea
Becalmed
If You Build It, Kevin Costner Will Come
Lessons Learned
1. Enlightenment Is Overrated
2. Being Busy Is Good for Your Writing
3. Plot Happens
4. Writing for Its Own Sake Has Surprising Rewards
Meanwhile, Back at NaNoWriMo Headquarters
Your Mission
Section One A Round-Trip Ticket to Novel-Land: Gearing Up For Your Writing Adventure!
Chapter 1 Secret Weapons, Exuberant Imperfections, and the End of the “One Day” Novelist
The Mystery Machine and You
A Good Deadline Is Hard to Find
Okay, One Month Sounds Good. But Why 50,000 Words?
Low Expectations, High Yield
Exuberant Imperfection Defined
Writing in Packs
Activating Your Deadline
Chapter 2 Time-Finding, News-Breaking, and a Step-By-Step Guide to Transforming Loved Ones Into Effective Agents of Guilt and Terror
Finding Your Forgo-able with the Time Finder
Scheduling Your Writing Time
Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst
Rallying the Troops
The Joys of Writing Companions
Filling the Home Team Bleachers
Turning Close Friends into Obligations
Bragging as a Tool for Self-Motivation
Betting the Bank
Chore-Based Betting
Chapter 3 Noveling Nests, Magical Tools, and a Growing Stockpile of Delicious Incentives
Writing at Home
Creating a Noveling Headquarters Away from Home
Your Novel (Coming Soon to a Café Near You)
Libraries
Work
Quirky Places
The Tools of the Trade
A Notebook
A Magical Pen
A Word-Processing Device
A Reference Book
Music
A Writing Totem
Eating Your Way to 50,000 Words
Takeaway Food from Local Restaurants
Mass Meals
Massive Snacks
Drinks
Chapter 4 Cruising For Characters, Panning For Plots, and the First Exciting Glimpses of the Book Within
The Happy Side Effects of Limited Planning
The Two Magna Cartas
Your Book in Ten Questions or Less
Shady Characters
Hatching Your Plot
Background on Backdrops
FAQs on POVs
Section Two Write Here! Write Now! a Frantic, Fantastic Week-By-Week Overview to Bashing Out Your Book
Chapter 5 Week One: Trumpets Blaring, Angels Singing, and Triumph On the Wind
Week One Issues
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times: Writing the Ideal First Sentence
Knowing When to Bring the Curtains Down: Ending Chapters
Week One Tips
Ride the Momentum
Don’t Delete, Italicize
Start a Novel Notes File
Sensitive People: Keep the Story to Yourself
Week One Exercises
“Tell Me about Your Uncle”: Fleshing Out Characters through Random Conversations with Friends and Strangers
I, Couch Potato
Chapter 6 Week Two: Storm Clouds, Plot Flashes, and the Return of Reality
Week Two Issues
Still No Plot? Still No Problem.
Character Coups
Falling Behind and the Key to the VIP Lounge
Week Two Tips
“Don’t Get It Right, Get It Written”: Making Decisions in Week Two
The Mind Is Willing, the Immune System Weak: Avoiding Pathogens and Other Enemies of Fine Literature
The Check-In: Staying in Touch When You Don’t Have Time to Write
Week Two Exercises
Getting On Your Case: How Friends and Family Can Help Plot Your Novel
Inciting Plot Flashes
Chapter 7 Week Three: Clearing Skies, Warmer Weather, and a Jetpack On Your Back
Week Three Issues
Standing Halfway and Seeing the Future: Appraising Your Progress
“You’re Still Working on that Thing?”: When Support Networks Attack
Week Three Tips
Activating the 6,000-Word Jetpack Under Your Seat
Out of Sight But Not Out of Mind: Banishing the Last Traces of Your Inner Editor
Week Three Exercises
Putting Your Story on the Map
The Person & Thing Game
Chapter 8 Week Four: Champagne and the Roar of the Crowd
Week Four Issues
Arriving at 35,000 Words
Holiday Horror Stories: Surviving Family Vacations with Your Word Count Intact
Crossing the Finish Line
Week Four Tips
Love Your Body
Troll Your Novel Notes File for Forgotten Ideas
Cross Early and Keep Writing
When It Happens, Tell Everyone You Know
Week Four Exercises
Doing the Last Days Longhand: Your Novel, Unplugged
Reintroducing Yourself to the World as a Novelist
Chapter 9 I Wrote a Novel. Now What?
Turning the Pages and Making the Call
Whittling the Stump: The Knotty Issues of Rewriting
Trading Chain Saws for Dental Picks (and the Return of a Familiar Secret Weapon)
The Big Picture: Entering the War Room
Focusing the Story
Fixing the Flow
Getting a Second Opinion: Beta Readers
The Small Picture: Polishing Your Prose
Next Steps: Publishing
A Final Thought
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Chronicle Ebooks
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