One week left of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! Every November, hundreds of thousands of people participate in this fun, creative activity. The premise is simple: write a novel in a month. However, carrying out that premise can be intimidating! You might think, “Write an entire book in a month? How is that even possible?” But have no fear: if you’re participating this year, journaling can help you through those frustrating moments, and your writer’s block and help you finish up on time. Here are just a few ways your personal journal can come to the rescue.
NaNoWriMo Meets Journaling
1. Flip Through Your Past Journal Entries
If you’re having trouble developing a character or plot line, try pulling knowledge from your own life. Go back to past entries and re-read. Dig into very real emotions and events. In your own words, you’ll find a gold mine of information. If you find an entry talking about someone in particular, you could try incorporating that person’s qualities and traits into one of your characters. You can also look at past events that have been influential in your life. Your personal journal might show that a series of small events lead to a bigger, life-changing event for you, which may help you tell your story. Let your journaling inspire your novel!
2. Dissect Each Character
Make a list of every character-- from main to miniscule-- in your story. Then, take a page for each character. Write his or her name at the top. Then, one by one, go through your characters and flesh them out-- even those who might have only been mentioned once. What’s his history? What’s her personality? What are their daily routines? Develop each character as much as you can in one sitting. You’ll be surprised at how often getting to know a character better will move a story along. Developing characters like this provides them with motive, which can influence your plot in any number of ways.
3. Free Writing
Step away from your computer and forget about your novel-in-progress for a minute. Just breathe and try to relax your mind. Then set a timer for five minutes and do a completely open free-writing exercise in your personal journal. Write down whatever comes to you in those five minutes. It doesn’t matter how insane or off the wall those thoughts are. Write them down. After your time is up, go for a walk. Then, come back and look at your free-writing. What’s interesting to you right off the bat? What did you spend the majority of your time writing about? Sometimes these exercises can give you insight into your own subconscious and can be useful when working on a creative project like a novel.
How are you and your journaling doing with NaNoWriMo? Do you see the finish line?
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