Road Trip to NaNo: Drawing Maps, and Other Ways to Organize Your Novel

NaNoWriMo is an international event, and the stories being written every year reflect our hundreds of participating regions. We’re taking a Road Trip to NaNo to hear from our amazing volunteers and writers all around the world. Today, Chris and Cara, our Municipal Liaisons in the USA :: Nebraska :: Omaha region talk organization and setting:

Two things travelers stop by Omaha, Nebraska for are the the Henry Doorly Zoo and the College World Series. But how do these apply to NaNoWriMo?

Cara:
When I walk through the exhibits of the Henry Doorly Zoo, it’s easy to forget how much goes into creating a place like this. When I descend into my favorite exhibit, the Creatures of the Night, where you can experience caves of bats and a perfectly replicated swamp, I always admire the creativity and skill it took to construct this space. Not only is the environment wonderful, but it is also the perfect habitat for the animals that live there…

Your story is like those habitats. Often, world-building is lost in the plotting, but like the zoo, you must build your world to suit your story. Mapping out the lay of the land can help hugely in terms of plotting events, and even developing characters.

Think about the world your characters live in. Where do they come from? Where will they go? How are people from here different from there? How will they interact? Where do these places merge and how?

What I like to do when a story’s world is huge or complex is draw out maps. They don’t have to be beautiful, but putting down on paper how the world looks can help build the flow of the plot, figure out odd things like travel time, and generally remind you of the feel of your world.

More often than not, we don’t have time during NaNo to stop and address world-building issues. I encourage everyone to take some time and consider the habitat your story will live and grow in. Imagine where your characters will be and how they get there, then create a visual representation of that journey. Draw what their homes look like. Map, design, create, and, above all, have fun!

Chris:
You might wonder what inspiration I find in the College World Series. Well, it’s pretty simple, really: The World Series teaches you about planning, organization and adapting to adversity. These three things go hand in hand with any major endeavor, including NaNoWriMo.

To get to the World Series, you need to have a plan, and execute it well. To get a novel done, you also need a plan, even if it’s as simple as finding the time to wing it, or as complicated as a full-on outline with pages of character notes.

Still, without organization, you aren’t going to get anywhere, no matter the plan. If you aren’t organized, you are going to play sloppily. You are going to misplace where you saved your novel, forget where you left off, or forget where you intended to go. You have to be organized to get anything big accomplished, especially a novel.

Finally, you need to be able to adapt. Maybe the pitcher is a lefty, and you didn’t expect that. Or maybe one of your characters in your novel decides to kill another unexpectedly. You have to be able to adapt to changes, or you are going to run into writer’s block as you fight against what your subconscious is telling you.

This is what this non-sports fan takes away from the College World Series. I hope you can dig deep as well and hone your planning, organization and adaptability.

Cara Lee was born in Tennessee, but soon moved to Texas to have a fairly happy and uneventful childhood. At the age of ten, she moved to Omaha, NE, where life has been equally uneventful. She currently survives by working as a Shift Lead in a well-known pharmacy but would really be much happier sitting in a room typing on her computer all day. If you happen to meet her, don’t be surprised if she appears to be half asleep. Due to insomnia, she probably is.

Chris attended college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha for many years while he studied Computer Science and worked as a programmer. He married Nichola in 1992, and in 1995 and 1999 had two children, Valerie and Alex. He has over the years been writing novels during NaNoWriMo, most of which he would not share with even his worst enemies. He has risen to a leadership role in his NaNoWriMo group, helping with instruction as well as setting up write-ins year-round.

Top photo by Flickr user Chris Smith.