NaNo2010 > Daydreaming
Posted under: Daydreaming
This is arguably the most important part of novel planning for me.
Yes, I will work hard to make sure my plot is properly paced and my scenes are tight. I will make sure my characters are believable and my grammar is correct. I will make sure I follow through on my promises and deliver as entertaining a novel as I can.
First, though, I must fall in love with it.
Homework
This week’s homework is to daydream. Every menial, boring task is an opportunity to dream and an invitation to visit the world of your story. While you’re commuting, or doing dishes, or going for a walk, or falling asleep – think about your character and your world.
Let your imagination embrace them and play with them.
Come up with some clever dialogue or a heart-wrenching scene or a key plot point. Don’t worry about making it all match up and be perfect.
This is the “magic” portion of novel planning. This is what most writers instinctively do. This is how we start writing – by daydreaming until it seems our stories might burst from us if we don’t write them down. Pikestaff over at Clockwork Hare recently posted about how writing has always seemed “like breathing” to her. THIS is the breathing part of writing for me. This is the life’s breath of your book.
This is the “fun” part. For now, play with your story and fall in love with it.
Daydream.
Example
My daydreaming has already yielded me a couple of great scenes that I am going to do my best to make sure survive to the end of the story.
I know how my character’s story ends (not the plot, but rather the character arc). I can see the scene in my mind’s eye. What she does. What he does. What he says. How he feels while he’s saying it. How she feels as she listens. Her response. Their joyful union. That scene packs an incredible emotional punch for me. I’m looking forward to writing it.
I’ve got another scene in mind – remember my second character building post? I decided my character would have to help someone realize their value, so that she would realize her own. I can see that scene. I know who she helps. I know why she helps them. I know when she realizes that she might just as well be talking to herself. And I know how her actions affect the other characters in the scene. I’m not sure where this scene happens except that it’s in the middle somewhere.
And another! A battle scene this time, but still emotionally charged and important to Shayla. There’s even a hidden hint of her power that she doesn’t recognize for most of the book. This one happens near the beginning of the book and gives me a hook that I’ll use to develop the book’s plot later. Battle scenes are great for that because someone or some thing is actively fighting against the main character. Finding out why they are doing so can be the first step to a solid plot.
Fretting
I still don’t have a bad guy. I don’t have a plot that gets foiled or even a solidly defined character for the male lead. I don’t know where my story STARTS.
These worries niggle at me while I’m daydreaming. “Thank you,” I say, pushing them away, “but now is not the time to worry about that.”
I will deal with those things later. They are important, yes, but this is MORE important.
I’m falling in love with Stained.
I hope you’re falling in love with your story, too.
I would like to add to that by saying that taking a child-like approach to your novel can lead to some very creative circumstances. Imagine your childhood, back when you would play with dolls or stuffed toys, having tea with them and whatnot. Consider having a make-believe tea party with stuffed toys, except your stuffed toys are your main characters. It’s a great exercise in both imagination and getting to know your characters.
For my 2009 nanonovel, I actually took out my old Power Ranger Megazord toys, and after playing around with them for a while, I choreographed a titanic clash between them. It really got my creative juices running, which allowed me to write the fantastic ‘guardian sumo’ fight scenes that are there today. Pike, having read through my draft as an alpha, highly praised those scenes :D
.-= krizzlybear´s last blog ..Back in Business =-.
@Krizzlybear
That’s a great way to think about it!
AH HAH! Now THIS is what I can do, do well, do without even thinking about it! I love this part…I write scenes, I develop characters, I think about plot…almost effortlessly.
Except I usually fall asleep before I get very far. :(
.-= Steve Hall´s last blog ..Weekly Wrap-Up: March 26 =-.
@Steve
Long as you remember when you wake back up, it’s all good! I put this off until after getting a strong sense of world and character because I think it’s easier to daydream in a place you know with a character you’re at least somewhat familiar with. =]
Wow, thanks for the link! /blush
Daydreaming is a huuuuge help to me when it comes to inspiration. I do it a lot at work. (Getting paid to work on my book! Hee.) Other things that I find have helped me a lot include: music (I will seriously envision an entire scene or montage to a song), and pretending like I’m carrying on a conversation or interview with a character. That last one sort of goes with the daydreaming. It feels kind of silly at first (to me anyway), but sometimes that character will randomly say something that you don’t expect which can spark a whole host of new ideas. It’s happened to me!
.-= Pike´s last blog ..Classic Video Game Monday: SimCity 2000 =-.
@Pike
WOW…I love the idea of having a conversation with a character! I’m definitely going to give that a try. :)
.-= Steve Hall´s last blog ..Weekly Wrap-Up: March 26 =-.
@Pike
Hee, I second Steve’s love of the conversation idea!
.-= Tami´s last blog ..Hunters are OP =-.
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