Noveling Non-Negotiables so "You Don't Get Sloppy"

Novel Writing Reminders:

1. Turn off your inner editor, but don’t forget about using solid grammar, spelling, and punctuation conventions. You don’t want to reread 15,000 words adding in commas or a space after periods because “You Got Sloppy.” With this in mind, here are some…

Noveling Non-Negotiables:

a. You MUST Use Paragraphs. Start a new paragraph each time there is a shift in scene, time, or topic. Start a new paragraph with EACH new speaker, even if they are only saying, “huh?”

Example:

Charlie scrounged in his grimy Jansport backpack for his 49ers cap. It wasn’t there. His ear was burning where he’d just shoved the safety pin, and he wanted to cover up the bleeding that was sure to commence. He looked at Alfredo, and said, “Where’s my hat, loser?”

“It’s not a hat, it’s a beanie,” said Alfredo.

“You took it.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did. You always do.”

“Do not.” Alfredo skated his eyes toward the English teacher who was doing the owl-eyes thing to get them to refocus on their exciting district assessment.

“Do too.”

b. You must use capitals properly, (AND THAT DOESN’T MEAN ALL CAPS) and spell out all words like “u”. Again, you do NOT want to be capitalizing all 4200 sentences at the end of the month, and you do not want to correct “u’s” either. After each writing session do a quick spell check to catch places where “You Got Sloppy.”

c. You must use chapters. Small chapters are great. They keep you progressing, and you don't want to wade through 42 pages with no breaks. Don't pull a Bradbury. 

2. Every day, when you open your document, write the date at the top, “Day #,” and begin writing. This will help you find key scenes later, and help you see your daily progress.

3. Requirements for tracking progress:

a. On the last page of your document write the Day # plus your word count total for that day (found at the bottom of your word document). I go in reverse order, so I’m just adding the latest Day to the top. *Be sure to put your cursor before the Day list and take that word count so that you aren’t counting those numbers as words written.

Ex:

Day 3: 3610, 3700, 4873 (a day when I wrote three different sessions)

Day 2: 2527

Day 1: 1679

b. Make a Character page below your Day word count list. This is where you can write down new characters and quick descriptions as they show up for the party, since you may forget who “Cassandra” a few days after you’ve written her into the novel. This is great for those random friends or family members you mention by name.

4. SAVE AND SAVE OFTEN!!!! Get that flash drive and use it, or get into the habit of emailing to yourself after each writing session to back up your work. 

**Bolding consistency brought to you by Gia P.**