NaNoWriMo Day 5
The struggle is real.
Hello, writers!
I hope your November writing challenge is off to a good start!
If you’re doing the OG 50K word challenge, you should have nearly 7,000 words by now. How’s it going? Are you hitting the daily goals? If you can get ahead a little early in the month, at end of the month when Thanksgiving throws all of our routines out of whack, you won’t have to reach such high daily targets.
And to everyone who took my invitation to do an alternate challenge, how’s it going? Are you finding a way into a writing routine that works for you?
No matter how you’re approaching this jumpstart to your writing routine, I hope you’re finding joy in it. After all, if it’s not fun, why do it?
Now let’s get to today’s prompts. Last time, the prompts focused on getting to know your main character. This time, I’m going to help you nudge your main character into action and make sure the plot is rolling!
Writing Prompts
Throughout my prompts, I am often going to suggest that you write a scene. By a scene, I mean a continuous sequence of events that occur in a limited timeframe. I intend each prompt to be a 15-minute word sprint. Set a timer for 15 minutes and just keep writing until the timer goes off. You’ll be amazed by what you can achieve in 15 minutes. These first few prompts are designed to help you know your main character more fully. You do them one after the other right now, pick and choose, do one a day—whatever works for you!
For the first four prompts in this NaNoWriMo series, click here.
In prompt 4, I asked you to think about what your character wants. Now try writing a scene in which your character has an opportunity to take action that will move them closer to the thing they want, but the character chooses not to take the opportunity. After all, they can’t get what they want too fast, or the story is over! Why do they refuse? What must the character learn before they can start moving toward the thing they most desire?
For example: Maybe your protagonist wants to find true love. A friend offers to set the protagonist up on a dating site, but the protagonist refuses. The character feels that they aren’t attractive enough to use a dating site. They must build their self esteem first. Show the conversation between the friends and the internal narrative of the main character to help us understand why the main character would refuse to move toward his/her goal.
Write a scene in which your character gets something related to what they want, but this new acquisition creates immediate complications that make the character doubt their goals.
For example: Maybe your protagonist wants to grow their YouTube side hustle to the point where they can quit their day job. They make a video that goes viral, which is great validation, but they aren’t making money yet. Meanwhile, the video brings some negative attention at work and with friends.
Write a scene in which your character asks for help from the wrong person. Who do they turn to? Why do they turn to this person? Does the main character know they’re asking the wrong person?
Show your work!
I’d love to hear from you as you begin your NaNo journey. Share a sentence or two from your WIP in the comments and let me know how it’s going!
I’ll be back on Friday with some more prompts to help you keep the creative juices flowing.