(Dianne) Fox Writes

No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty [Amazon | Barnes&Noble] is a sort of travel guide to the land of NaNoWriMo, a place I’ll never visit. Despite that, I wanted to read the book and see if any of his advice was applicable to me. (I can’t write 1,667 words in a day without being non-functional the next day, so 50,000 words in a month isn’t doable.)

Happily, a lot of the “turn off your self-editor” tips were very useful, and some of the lists he suggests making — particularly, the two Magna Cartas — were excellent advice. Make a list of things you hate in books so you don’t accidentally do them yourself! Brilliant! (Yes, it took a book to tell me that might be a good idea. Yes, I now have that list pinned to my desk door.)