As we inch closer to October (but no closer to autumn, it seems, at least in Los Angeles), I find myself somewhat absently thinking about National Novel Writing Month.
I don't often have a problem getting started, because I write non-fiction mainly. But I tried NaNo once and sat there for a whole month staring at a blank page! Horses for courses I suppose. However, the only thing I would suggest doing if you get blogged down in plot holes would be to make a note of the problem and where it is in the text, and work on a completely different aspect of the story. I do something similar in my writing when necessary, and it works for me. Alternatively, you could leave the plot holes unresolved and make THAT part of the plot. In Webster's The White Devil, some characters appear in the first half the play and are never heard from again, but it works somehow! Good luck with it.
It's a Jacobean play. For what it's worth, my own theory is that the playwright treats the characters, who are all pretty nasty pieces of work, the way they treat each other. Hence he just disposes of them by not mentioning them again.
I voted for "procrastinating," but could've just as easily marked "getting started." Getting that first sentence on the screen is always my biggest hurdle.
I hesitated on separating those out because they might be the same thing? But I guess “getting started” could also encompass feeling overwhelmed or not knowing where to start?
I don't often have a problem getting started, because I write non-fiction mainly. But I tried NaNo once and sat there for a whole month staring at a blank page! Horses for courses I suppose. However, the only thing I would suggest doing if you get blogged down in plot holes would be to make a note of the problem and where it is in the text, and work on a completely different aspect of the story. I do something similar in my writing when necessary, and it works for me. Alternatively, you could leave the plot holes unresolved and make THAT part of the plot. In Webster's The White Devil, some characters appear in the first half the play and are never heard from again, but it works somehow! Good luck with it.
Huh, I’ve never heard of that play! I’ll have to check it out to see how that works. Thanks!
It's a Jacobean play. For what it's worth, my own theory is that the playwright treats the characters, who are all pretty nasty pieces of work, the way they treat each other. Hence he just disposes of them by not mentioning them again.
Ooooh that's really interesting. Thanks Terry!
I voted for "procrastinating," but could've just as easily marked "getting started." Getting that first sentence on the screen is always my biggest hurdle.
I hesitated on separating those out because they might be the same thing? But I guess “getting started” could also encompass feeling overwhelmed or not knowing where to start?
Oh, definitely!