Pardon me while I try to plow through my library books. I do not like to return them unread, and I do not like to upset my librarians by keeping them overlong. So.
No Plot? No Problem: A Low-Stress, High Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days is NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty’s…well, guide to NaNo. Or other, more appropriate for you, month to write a novel.
Disclaimer: I love NaNo. I will pimp it madly every single time you give me the opportunity. I have benefited hugely in Awesome Cred for my participation in NaNo; so much that you might as well consider me bought and paid for.
So. The book. If you’ve ever received one of Chris’ pep-talk emails, you know that he’s sincere, encouraging, and funny as hell. His book is much the same, as he walks the reader through what NaNo is, why anyone would want to do it, how to prepare for it, and how to do it.
I have to say that NaNo has never been a problem for me. I actually wrote a novel in a month before I’d ever heard of NaNo, won my first NaNo pretty easily, and have won all three since. NaNo fits my writing style quite well; I found myself nodding with Baty’s points. I read the book more because I should as an avid NaNoer, than because I expected to learn much from it. Still, reinforcing of hard lessons is a good thing, and I did jump back into my ongoing draft with both feet last night.
The verdict? This book can do just about any writer some good. If you find it hard to write a paragraph without the Inner Editor pointing out every last comma and/or questionable word choice, this book can do you a lot of good.
Yay, the one and only writing book that I’ve ever read! >_> I do love it though. I try to read it every November.
It’s a good one, especially if it’s the only one! ^__^