Self-Help Read-Along

What next?

2019-12-02T09:31:00.000-05:00

So it's time to start thinking ahead to future books!

I'm already working on upcoming posts, but I need you to help me decide what book we should read next.

Some of these might not be quite your cup of tea, but I'm not too good to hate-read.

And if nothing on the list appeals, that's fine! I'm open to suggestions in the comments as well, though I may need to hit up the library for your pic.

Anyway! Take my poll!

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 9

2019-11-29T09:33:00.000-05:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

Finally, I want to say congratulations. If nothing else, you made it though my read-along of No Plot? No Problem! And given some of my rants, I think that's an accomplishment in itself. I recommend you go read the book yourself next year if you didn't this year.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go spend some time not typing anything.

Yes, I'm aware this is a bit premature; we still have today and tomorrow to finish, so go ahead, shrink your browser, and come back December 1 if you're not done. (Back up your work first!)

But the congratulations are genuine and well-earned. Hit me up in the comments and let me know how you did!

PS: If you're interested in getting that novel edited, email me for an estimate. Between January 1, 2020, and February 29, 2020, you can use the coupon code NANO19 and save 10% off my usual rates!

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 8

2019-11-22T09:25:00.000-05:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

But then there's the holiday. Especially this year, with Thanksgiving falling so late, I was hoping to finish by Wednesday. Yeah, go ahead and laugh. Baty recommends giving family the heads-up, but I don't see that helping a lot in my case. Ultimately, he wishes us luck. Thanks, Baty. We need it.

Yikes, Thanksgiving is late this year, too. If your plans are chill, it's the perfect time cram in words for the home stretch. If not... well, you can join past-me (and probably present-me) in trying to finish by Wednesday.

After we all stop laughing, right?

(Also, go back up your work right now!)

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 7

2019-11-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

No Plot? No Problem

By Chris Baty

What tips does Baty offer for this week? Well, he suggests 6,000 word days.

Yes. 6,000 word days.

But he's not just dropping us into the deep end without a floatie. He explains how to do that.

Wow, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that, but you should try and let me know how it goes! Most people will either be in pretty bad word debt at this point (me!) or they'll be just getting ready to finish early (hopefully you!). Good luck, and don't forget to back up your work.

No, I mean now.

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 6

2019-11-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

If Our Hero is kind of a douche and you find yourself writing more about his bumbling sidekick, that's probably a good sign that it's time to switch protagonists. Sit down for a second, see if there's story potential there, and if so, go! But do not delete what you already wrote! It still counts!

You've info-dumped all your world-building exposition, and now it's time for your characters to do something in your setting! How exciting! What a pain in the ass!

Oh, and don't forget to back up your work! Go do it right now!

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 5

2019-11-01T09:52:00.000-04:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

Oh, this is the rough part. The one year I came closest to winning, ugh. Just thinking about that manuscript makes me shudder. But you know what? It got a story idea out of my head and onto the computer screen, and maybe, someday, if that idea starts bugging me again, I'll have something I can take apart and put back together.

Happy November! It's time to take all the prep we've been doing and get to vomiting those words onto that page!

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 4

2019-10-25T09:48:00.000-04:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

Seven days, according to Baty, lets you get a nice goundwork ready, but prevents us from overplanning. You don't want to paralyze yourself with a brilliant concept that your writing can't possibly live up to, you don't want planning to turn into a form of procrastination, and you don't want to suck the elements of fun and surprise out of the actual writing process. Instead, ask yourself what makes a good novel. I'll start.

Basically, you want to write a book that you'll also want to read. So what do you like to read?

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 3

2019-10-18T09:30:00.000-04:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

I've mentioned before, I can't focus on creative writing at home. I don't know why. I can blog fine, but even if I move into another room, my brain doesn't want to work in that direction. While Baty praises the convenience of writing at home, he sees the shortcomings that always get me: distractions and fuzzy boundaries. He offers some tips for writing at home.

Hey, this is the chapter that talks about writing with kids. I need to revisit this. Enjoy!

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 2

2019-10-11T09:25:00.000-04:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

Baty calculates that writing your 50,000-word novel takes, on average, about 55 hours to write, and then tells the story of a novelist who always ends up cramming most of that 55 hours into the last three days of his writing month.

55 hours isn't all that much to cram into 30 days, then, and here Baty helpfully provides the Time Finder.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to do it -- or frankly, how hard I'm going to try -- with a preschooler, but busier people than you or I have succeeded, so let's find that time!

No Plot? No Problem! Chapter 1

2019-10-04T09:20:00.000-04:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

Baty kicks off Chapter 1 by explaining that you don't need plot, character, setting, or even coffee to write a novel.

What you need is a deadline.

The whole point of NaNoWriMo is to have a set time in which to write your novel -- not "Eventually" but "this month"! So get your plan in gear!

No Plot? No Problem! Introduction

2019-09-27T09:15:00.000-04:00

No Plot? No Problem!

By Chris Baty

Welcome to my read-along of No Plot? No Problem! A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days.

I originally did a read-along of this book back in 2013 -- the only year I won NaNoWriMo, so clearly it did me some good!

Starting today, each Friday we'll be returning to those old posts. Read along, comment there or here, and happy writing!

No Plot? No Problem! Kickoff post!

2019-09-20T09:29:00.000-04:00

Welcome to my inaugural read-along. For the next 10 Fridays, I'll be covering No Plot? No Problem!, a guide to winning National Novel Writers Month (which I plan to participate in, and probably lose, this year!).

These are actually old posts I wrote for a previous blog, but I encourage you to go ahead and read them, comment on either that blog or this one, and go do NaNoWri Mo!

So what is this thing?

2019-05-15T17:47:00.005-04:00

This is a blog for self-improvement read-alongs. I'll cover everything from how-tos (Podcasting for Dummies) to year-in-the-life project-memoirs (The Happiness Project) to writing manuals (No Plot? No Problem!) to parenting help (How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk).

And you are?

I'm a stay-at-home mom, freelance editor, and bibliophile. I want to be better at all those things, and, you know, life in general.

So why are you doing this?

A few reasons. For one, I really do want to be a better [fill in the blank]. I have a shelf of self-help books I need to give myself a kick in the butt to read (maybe I should cover a book about reading all your books!). And I wouldn't be upset if I made a few bucks by linking to the books I talk about to Amazon using an affiliate link.

By the way, I'll be doing that. And did, above.

How often do you post?

Hah, about that... typically, I'll read a book, and write about it as I read it, and once I've finished the book, I'll post what I've written on a weekly basis. So in theory, I'll post once a week, probably Mondays. But I may go for stretches where I don't post at all, because I'm in the middle of a book... Or I'll have finished a book before the previous one is done posting, so I'll have multiples going in a week. I may have read a year-in-the-life book and decided to post about it monthly to match the book's format. I may be reading something specific to a certain time of year, like National Novel Writer's Month, and post around that instead of as I finish. So I would recommend subscribing, either here or through your favorite aggregator.

I also plan to make update my twitter account when I update the blog, and I haven't ruled out starting a tumblr. Let's see how it goes. In any case, when I start posting about a book, I'll let you know what that book's posting schedule is going to be.

Can I make a suggestion?

Absolutely! I'm not promising I'll take it, of course, but I'll definitely consider it!

Can I join your read-along?

I do want to keep some control on what gets posted, but if we know each other in brickspace and you're OK with me having editorial control over the posts, then hit me up! (If you know me in brickspace, you already know how...)

Oh, I meant I want to read along and comment!

Awesome! Feel free to start a conversation in the comments. I plan on keeping my comment section pretty non-toxic.

Wow, you're a bitch!

Deleted, blocked, and banned.

But since we're on the topic, I may use slightly salty language. I avoid slurs (and if I use one by accident, don't hesitate to tell me so I can fix it!), but while you should be able to send a link to your mom or your cubicle-mate with no problems, you might want to self-censor before you read a passage to your boss or your 3-year-old.

You mentioned you're an editor? I wrote a thing!

Cool! Contact me with details and I'll send you a price estimate. And if you're really lucky, I'll slide a coupon code into a post, so make sure you read regularly!