When a Plotter Plots for #NaNoWriMo

When I was a kid, I used to jot down every poetic couplet or line of dialogue that popped into my head on anything I could get my hands on—gum wrappers, receipts, and even the palm of my hand if my journal wasn’t within reach. Then I’d transcribe everything into my word processor, plugging all of my ideas and bits of writing into documents that I’d groom until they were nice and shiny.

You see, I lived down the street from an author, and she gave me one piece of advice: Write everything down, always.

So I did.

And I still do.

Since last weekend, I’ve been pulling together all of my scattered ideas into a single Word Docx. I’ve pecked things into my Notes app, scribbled chunks on loose-leaf paper at work, built a secret Pinterest inspiration board, and even scrawled out a ton of ideas in a spiral notebook that I’ve kept on my night stand for those middle-of-the-night gems.

As of today, I have managed to take detailed notes on 90 scenes (87 solid scenes plus 3 skeletal scenes that need a little more fleshing out for purpose), as well as complete my basic research for my time period references–all of which are now neatly tucked away on my laptop (and forever secured in my Apple Time Capsule).

My project that I am working on will be my second full-length novel, but this will be my first time knocking out a rough draft in thirty days through National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo).

I’m a little surprised how easily the plot is falling into place.

Although it’s a lot of truth that’s been exaggerated then marinated in romance, I feel that it’s fresh, original, and promises to be something I’ll be proud of when November 30^th rolls around.

I’m definitely a plotter/planner all the way.

Although, I have to say that many times through the process of editing my first novel, I did fly by the seat of my pants in a couple of places.

There’s one scene in my first novel where my MC opens the door and meets a man who causes her to rethink everything she thought she knew about love. This man was not in my plot-packed notebooks. When the front door flew open and this salty, carefree, heart-stopping, smooth talker appeared, I was as surprised as she was, but I went with it. Further edits wiggled him in from the beginning, and he forever defined my main character’s overall arc. Breaking free from being a planner and going with the whole pantser feel was exactly what my novel needed to bring everything together.

I’m not afraid to fly by the seat of my pants through any part of my upcoming novel, but as of this weekend, there’s no way I’ll be wondering what to write next especially when I still have two more weeks to plot away. I’m learning that even though I can safely label myself a plotter/planner, I’m capable of pantsing it, too. Either way, I’m embracing the challenge ahead, writing everything down … as always.