Monday, January 4, 2010

Challenge Twenty: Blueprint Your '10 Novel

So, 2010 is finally here. . . Feels quite a bit like 2009, doesn't it? Oh, well. Perhaps when we're all Timelords, we'll be able to see New Years in a different light. For those of you who aren't completely bogged down with over-ambitious New Years Resolutions, I'd like to present you with Writing Challenge #20, The Blueprint Challenge.

This challenge is intended for original fiction, specifically novels, novellas, and serials. Deep down, ever aspiring writer has several "novel" (punpun) ideas floating about. These ideas are sometimes confined to the mind and sometimes jotted down on a scrap of paper. But the point is, they're simply ideas. So, let's take one of those ideas and mold it into a full story.

This challenge will not have a specific deadline, though I'd like to see a response at the beginning of the year (some time in the month of Jan.). The challenge intended to get your creative little minds focused on the "busy work" of writing. Essentially, though, this is the fun part: coming up with several little plotlines, characters, motifs, etc. and forming a novel around them.

Challenge:
Create a blueprint of your novel. Focus on chapters, subplots, character development. Pretend you're building a house. Start with the base and work your way up. Create the frame. The writing part (the filler) will come later. Come up with your own process.

If you accept this challenge, post a comment below. You don't have to tell us about your novel idea, but I'd like to know if you'll be outlining/blueprinting a story to write in 2010. Also, after you've finished your blueprint, return to this post and comment on your process.

Bonus Points:

Bonus Points, those invisible little gold coins for the competitor inside, go to the participants who not only comment but also post a blog entry explaining how they formulated their blueprint. This entry should be intended to help those who are still struggling with outlining. You don't necessarily have to give away the plot of your story, just explain how you were able to mold your ideas into a workable blueprint for a novel.

GOOD LUCK!

2 comments:

PatriciaLouise said...

Totally will be doing this. As well as filling out a short story of mine. I intend to continue working on the novel I didn't complete for NaNoWriMo in'09, which was called The Order of La Spara.

Ariyana said...

I'm doing this as well. I don't know exactly what I'm blueprinting yet, but...I'm blueprinting, dang it. Hee.