My son, Keith, has heard me moan more than once that I will never be a great fiction writer because I’m unable to develop and sustain a plot. Without it, there’s no structure on which to hang the tale.
Enter, center stage, a little book Keith gave me this past Christmas. Titled No Plot, No Problem and written by Chris Baty, this book claims a plot isn’t all that necessary for writing a novel. What is necessary is a cast-in-stone deadline and an equally strong commitment to writing 50,000 words, which is the equivalent of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald or Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
We’re not talking War and Peace or Gone With the Wind here. We’re probably not talking Pulitzer Prize or National Book Award either.
In fact, Mr. Baty is the founder of NaNoWriMo, which stands for National Novel Writing Month. Baty believes the best way to write a novel is to sit down and do it. Don’t take writing classes first; don’t practice with short stories; don’t even re-read what you’ve written. Just push that pencil or hit those keys with determination to meet your deadline.
Did I mention the requirement about the deadline?
Baty says to give yourself 30 or 31 consecutive days, the equivalent of a month’s time, and he offers many interesting suggestions culled from his own experiences to get you started and keep you motivated. Drinking a lot of coffee is high on the list.
I haven’t finished the book yet, but Keith has. And he’s already writing his novel. I must remember to ask him if he is experiencing what Baty vows happens when you follow his approach. Somewhere in the process — he says — your plot shows up, your characters get into line, and the book becomes a whole. He also admits there’s a lot of rewriting and editing to do when your month is up . . . but at least you have that first draft.
I wonder if F. Scott Fitzgerald did it this way.
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