How do you achieve your goal? How do you plan ahead? Do you know your one sentence idea? Your conflict lock? Your characters? How do you keep track of your progress? All these things are key for success.

1. Planning for
NaNoWriMo
Success

2. The Keys NaNoWriMo
• Pre-Planning
• Set Goals
• Keeping Track Daily
• Always Write Forward
• Staying Motivated

3. Pre-Planning
Make a roadmap--if you don’t
know where you are headed
you are likely to get lost!

4. • The WHO of your story
• Protagonist, (Hero and/or Heroine)
• Antagonist
• The WHAT of your Story
• What is your basic conflict (Conflict
Box further on)
• The WHY of your story
• Motivation
• The WHERE of your story
• Location
• The WHEN of your story
• Time frame
Pre-Planning

5. • Basic backstory of main characters
• Who are they?
• Main character’s GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict)
• What do they want?
• Why do they want it?
• Why Can’t they have it?
Pre-Planning

6. • What Point of View are you going to write in?
• What will be your tone?
• How will the conflict escalate?
Pre-Planning

7. • Write it DOWN
• Original Idea
• Narrative Structure
• Make a character sheet
• Draw your Conflict Box
Pre-Planning

8. Original Idea
• One Sentence
• 25 Words or less
• Sums up your book
• Imagine landing in a faraway world and the only way
you can get home is to follow a brick road and on your
journey a wicked witch keeps trying to steal your
shoes.

9. Narrative Structure
• What is your inciting Incident?
• Escalating Conflict
• Crisis (Dark Moment)
• Climax
• Resolution (payoff to the reader)

10. Character Sheet
• Take your main characters and write down their bios
• Write down who they are in the beginning, the middle
and the end of the book to the best of your ability
• How do they change?

11. Character Sheet

12. The Central Story Question
•Will the protagonist defeat the antagonist
and achieve her goal?
•When the reader asks that question, the
story begins.
•When the reader gets the answer, the story
is over. This question leads us to the . . .

13. The Conflict Box
•A way of diagraming your protagonist,
antagonist, goals, and conflict.
•You can have conflict because:
•Protagonist and antagonist want the same
thing.
•Protagonist and antagonist want different
things, but achieving one goal causes
conflict with the other’s goal.

14. Conflict Box
Protagonist
Conflict
Protagonist
Goal
Antagonist
Goal
Antagonist
Conflict

15. The Conflict Box-Same Goals
from Agnes and the Hitman

16. Conflict Box: Same Goals
•Agnes wants
to keep her
house, which
she bought
from Brenda.
•Brenda wants
to steal back
the house she
just sold to
Agnes
Keep
HOUSE
Get
HOUSE
Protagonist
Conflict
Antagonist
Conflict

17. Conflict Box: Conflict
Someone is
trying to steal
the house from
her!
Someone won’t
let her steal the
house back!
Keep
HOUSE
Get
HOUSE

18. Conflict Box: Inescapable!
Someone is
trying to steal
the house from
her!
Someone won’t
let her steal the
house back!
• To see if your
conflict is
inescapable:
Draw a line from
Agnes’ goal to
Brenda’s Conflict.
If Agnes is
causing Brenda’s
conflict, you’re
halfway there.
• Then draw a line
from Brenda’s
goal to Agnes’
conflict. If Brenda
is causing Agnes’
conflict, you have
a conflict lock.
Keep
HOUSE
Get
HOUSE

19. The Conflict Box-Different
Goals from Lost Girls

20. Conflict Box: Different Goals
KILL whoever is
killing young
girls
KILL the
daughters of the
men who
betrayed him
Protagonist
Conflict
Antagonist
Conflict
•Gant wants to
find out who is
kidnapping and
killing young
girls.
•The Sniper wants
revenge for being
betrayed.

21. Conflict Box: Conflict
KILL whoever is
killing young
girls
KILL the
daughters of the
men who
betrayed him
Another Girl is
killed,
kidnapped.
Someone is
closing in on
him, trying to
stop him.
•Gant wants to
find out who is
kidnapping and
killing young
girls.
•The Sniper wants
revenge for being
betrayed.

22. Conflict Box: Conflict
KILL whoever is
killing young
girls
KILL the
daughters of the
men who
betrayed him
Another Girl is
killed,
kidnapped.
Someone is
closing in on
him, trying to
stop him.
•Gant wants to
find out who is
kidnapping and
killing young
girls.
•The Sniper wants
revenge for being
betrayed.

23. • Daily Writing Goals
• Word Count/Page Count
• Daily Reminders
• Don’t edit
• Weekly Goals
• Reward yourself
Set Goals

24. • Read what you wrote the day before
• But don’t edit
• But make notes
• Keep a daily writing grid
Keeping Track Daily

25. Daily Writing Grid

26. Always Write Forward
• Use Grid to keep track of story
• Use Character sheet to keep track of
character changes
• Use Character grid to keep track the flow of
the story
• DON’T REWRITE OR EDIT!

27. Staying Motivated
• Support other writers
• Reward yourself--especially on hard writing
days
• Get out and walk
• Take Breaks
• Look at daily/weekly accomplishments
• Don’t beat yourself
• It’s a marathon not a sprint

28. Print
Book
More free slideshares on survival, writing, history, trivia
and more topics are available by clicking on the image
below.

29. For More Information click on covers
The Complete Writer is four books at discount in one
bundle.

30. New York Times bestselling author, graduate of West Point, former Green
Beret, and feeder of two yellow Labs, most famously Cool Gus. He’s had
over 75 books published, including the #1 bestselling series Time Patrol,
Area 51, Atlantis, and the Green Berets. Born in the Bronx and having
traveled the world he now lives peacefully with his wife and labs. Sort of.
Free books below available HERE
www.bobmayer.com

31. Writing Scenic Workshop
•An intense, on-premises workshop focusing on idea, conflict, story and the ever-
changing business of publishing.
•At our house on Scenic Drive in Knoxville, TN
•Most importantly, this workshop focuses on developing your creative process as
a writer.
•Led by Bob Mayer and his wife, Debbie.
•We’ve worked with everyone from #1 NY Times best-selling authors to novices
writing their first book.
•Limited to four people per workshop. This workshop can also come to you if you
have four interested writers. For schedule contact bob@bobmayer.com