My NaNoWriMo calendar looks like a game of tetris! I wonder how glowy green days get when you do really well, as I expect tomorrow to be (it has to, I’ve got a lot of words to make up).

Things I learned today:

1. When in grave and serious doubt, listen to it. If the voices girls in the basement say, “You’re doing something wrong,” you’re probably doing something wrong.

2. When in trouble with your characters, take the time to sit and write up a conversation between you and them, or at least some sort of monologue of theirs. Include in this interview or monologue their motivations (current), their goals (current), their relationships to other characters (current)—all from their point of view, of course.

3. Don’t be afraid to turn a NaNoWriMo draft into a Draft Zero—a chance to spew onto the page everything in your head. It can be totally out of order, it can have no structure, it can have no arcs, it just needs to be your thoughts made concrete, with as much narrative attached as possible.

4. Chuck Wendig has some awesome ideas on planning your story, which I’m actually finding useful in patching my story. Also, beat sheets are not my idea, even though I developed it separately from Chuck’s list. :(