Quilting Your Novel

RealHousewifeofAYS: Hello all! Welcome to Quilting your Story. We're going to take some time to understand what this means and how it works for NaNo. So glad you all could make it.7:03 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: You're going to need something to jot notes down on - either paper and a pen or a fresh WPS file. So once you have that ready to go, we'll get started.7:03 PM
Samantha: Ready7:04 PM
housekat: ready7:04 PM
Mama Badger(Steph) grabs writing notebook and pen7:04 PM
Hanney: ready7:04 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Alright! Woo, let's get started.7:04 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: First off, you might be wondering what does it even mean to Quilt your story. AM I right?7:04 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Basically what we're going to do is learn a skill where we take short 'blocks' of writing and later on combine them into one fluid work.7:05 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: The easiest way to convey this would be through a series of one shots. What a one shot is, is a short, concise and complete piece of work.7:05 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: The great thing about NaNo is, that you can create these 'blocks' every day and by the end of hte month have 30 one shot blocks to piece together7:05 PM
music_l0ver joined the chat7:06 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Think about scenes - these scenes will become your blocks which will then lead to your completed work.7:06 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Is everyone understanding thus far?7:06 PM
Samantha: yes7:06 PM
Riverwynne: yep7:06 PM
housekat has a question7:06 PM
Anais: Yes7:06 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Go ahead and ask7:06 PM
housekat: you said complete...does that mean having an ending? or just an ending for the scene?7:07 PM
Hanney: yes7:08 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Good question and we're leading right into that!7:08 PM
housekat: that was always my problem in school7:08 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Alot of times during NaNo, we can get overwhelmed at the idea of writing 50k. The idea of putting that much into one piece of work is daunting, to say the least.7:08 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Coupled with the fact that we might have a very, very rough idea of what we want to do for our story and the pressure of getting out our words every day, it really sets ourselves up for Writer's Block or as I like to call it, Wrtier's Panic.7:09 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: You keep wanting to go to the parts you're ready to write - the big scenes and important things, so we get blocked trying to GET there7:10 PM
Hanney: oh, I like that. "writer's panic"...that's more accurate, and so true!7:10 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Anyone else relate to that?7:10 PM
Hanney: yes!7:10 PM
Anais: Definitely7:10 PM
Samantha: Yep. Beginnings are always hard for me due to the slow buildup to the fun parts7:10 PM
housekat: yeah...i only want to write the "fun parts"7:10 PM
Samantha: All of that pesky background information7:10 PM
Hanney: exactly, Sam!7:10 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So basically what we're going to do, if you choose this method, is to set up 30 scenes - complete scenes - that will take around 2k each scene. Then every day, you grab one of your thirty and get to work, writing the 'one shot'7:11 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: If it's a little less than 2k, that's okay, because I guarantee others might be longer.7:11 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Let me give you an example:7:11 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: I'm writing a story about a space alien who lands on earth and tries to blend in with a group of teenagers from the valley7:12 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Scene One: Sheelon arrives to earth.7:12 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Then I'm like - where do I go from there?7:12 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Instead of having to think linear (the order the story follows) I can simply start writing out scenes I know I'd like in the story7:12 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Sheelon learns that dogs are not food."7:13 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Sheelon meets Corey who tries to teach her to drive a car"7:13 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Sheelon gets 'adopted by a motherly figure at the local movie theater"7:13 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Sheelon walks outside in teh rain and the makeup she uses to cover her skin color melts off."7:13 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: and while these scenes may not, at the time, feel lik they'd flow together, it doesn't matter at this point7:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Your only goal is to think of 30 things that would possibly fit within the boundaries of your story.7:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "The military hears of Sheelon and comes to investiage"7:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: You start viewing your story, instead of one 50k piece of work, as 30, 2k short episodes that will flow into a season/quilt7:15 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Any questions at this point?7:15 PM
Samantha: Nope. I actually use a similar method.7:16 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Awesome big grin7:16 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): How do we start?! tongue7:16 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Excellent!7:16 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: We're heading that way!7:16 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: First off, you might be asking yourslef "what really makes a 1shot? How do I know if it ends"7:17 PM
housekat: nano seems doable now7:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Simply think of a scenario/scene you want to write about your characters7:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: that's a one shot7:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: it doesn't have to come to a full resolution7:17 PM
DreamWriter joined the chat7:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: but you'll find yourself doing that anyway7:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: It doesn't have to have a middle/beginning/end. It can start tigh tin the action without the lead up7:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: You can write a 2k backstory that is a flash back to when the character was a child or 10 years prior or a flash forward7:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: these are moments you can capture7:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Now how to start. Here is, to me, the easiest way7:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Think about the bare bones of your story7:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Think of 5 scenes you think you'd want to write or would make sense to your story7:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Character A meets Character B" That's a scene7:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Character B meets a firey death by an angry trombone player"7:19 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: That's a scene7:19 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Chacter C assumes identity of Character B and A falls for it."7:19 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So right now we're going to run a 10 minute sprint and write down 5 potential scens for our story7:19 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Now if you ahve no idea what you're doing for nano, that's okay. Jus tpick a story, any story, just work on this exercise.7:20 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: And there are NO COMMITTMENTS just because you write down one of these 5 right now, doesn't mean you're forced to keep it.7:20 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Let's get started. 10 minutes - 5 potential scenes. Go!7:20 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS closed the chat7:20 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS opened the chat7:31 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Time's up peeps.7:31 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: How'd you do?7:31 PM
Samantha: It was easy for me because I've already pretty much outlined my Nano story7:32 PM
housekat: smile easy7:32 PM
housekat: me too7:32 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: If you'd liek to share, go ahead and share one of your scenes!7:32 PM
Hanney: I was on a roll...if it hadn't ended I might have reached 30 scenes...LOL (I hit 10 so far)7:33 PM
Anais: One. I'm stuck on that scene.7:33 PM
Samantha: Ashley changes her looks to keep her boyfriend interested and he hates the change, telling her that wasn't the girl he fell for.7:33 PM
Kate Mac: good but I can already see it will be a challenge getting these in order!7:33 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Hey one is better than other.7:33 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): I got ideas for a WiP I've been working on for a few years, haven't written anything new for it in months!7:33 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: I mean better than none*7:33 PM
Samantha: Ashley has some self-esteem issues7:33 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Those are awesome.7:34 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): Evan(bisexual hs teacher with a boyfriend) runs into one of his students at a gay bar, wonders if his secret is safe7:34 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Anyone else? I don't want to cut anyone off.7:34 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Ooo, intrigue!7:35 PM
Anais: Character goes into labor after being kidnapped7:35 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: That's awesome. Can I suggest another scene to you Anais?7:35 PM
Kate Mac: He (MC) and Carey got on a date to the theater (accompanied by Tiernan), and share a kiss during intermission.7:35 PM
housekat: the scene my whole story hinges on: the two MCs meet because she thinks he's trying to look at what she's reading7:35 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: "Character gets kidnapped"7:35 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): Ooooo7:35 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Now you have two.7:35 PM
Anais: True7:36 PM
housekat: i like that steph7:36 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: These are great guys!7:36 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Okay, now we're going to head to the next step7:36 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): Kat yours can go many direction!7:36 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Look at your scenes listed and think abut the possible ways they could go7:36 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: A good response, a bad response... what are logical (or sometimes illogical) steps that could happen if one of your 5 scenes occured.7:37 PM
housekat: her slapping him across the face is my favorite...lol7:37 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: haha.7:37 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So now we're going ot take 10 minutes to come up with 2 'follow up' scenes for each of our 5.7:37 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: They don't have to be fabulous. They don' thave to be specific.7:37 PM
housekat: ooh...i just thought of that now7:37 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): Lol7:37 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: They just have to be something that could happen if Scene A occurs.7:38 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: And 2. The 2 follow up scenes for each of the 5 dont even have to go together. For example:7:38 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Girl and boy drive to boston and car breaks down7:38 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: two possible scenes are: Girl and boy breka up over not checking to make sure gas tank was full7:38 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Scene two: Band of zombies come out and eat boy, much to girls dismay7:39 PM
Hanney: LOL7:39 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Now those two scenes might not work in teh same story7:39 PM
Samantha: That's random. big grin7:39 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: or they MIGHT. But at this point it doesn't matter7:39 PM
Hanney: cool...7:39 PM
housekat: so it's okay if they would work7:39 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So let's take 10 minutes and come up with 2 potential follow ups for all of our 5 (or however many you were able to think of in 10)7:39 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: yup, totally okay7:39 PM
housekat: ?7:39 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Ready?7:40 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Go for 10!7:40 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS closed the chat7:40 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS opened the chat7:50 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: open7:51 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So how'd we do?7:51 PM
Mama Badger(Steph): Got 1 1/2 follow ups...got a phone all frown7:52 PM
housekat: a bit tougher, but not much7:52 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Shoot boo phone!7:52 PM
CLOUD ~2K! 2K! 2K!~ joined the chat7:52 PM
Hanney: easy peasy...only I thought of too many off of one...like five off number 10...ah well7:52 PM
Samantha: Did all of the follow ups7:52 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: anyone want to share some? Share your scene and then 2 followups for it7:53 PM
Samantha: Hi Cloud7:53 PM
housekat: i tried to come up with things i could use both7:53 PM
CLOUD ~2K! 2K! 2K!~: hi hi7:53 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Feel free to share!7:53 PM
housekat: if that makes sense7:54 PM
Samantha7:54 PM
Scene: Michelle tells Kye not to lose Ashley because she's good for him.
» Follow up 1: Kyle tells Ashley he still wants her.
» Follow up 2: Ashley thanks Michelle for supporting the relationship.
RealHousewifeofAYS: That's awesome.7:55 PM
housekat7:55 PM
basketball court/game - kaia reads a letter from chris/thinks jeremy is trying to peek
» kaia slaps jeremy across the face
» gets up and walks away
RealHousewifeofAYS: Nice smile7:55 PM
Samantha: Poor Jeremy7:55 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So you see, if you were able to do 5 and 2 follow ups for each - that is 15 scenes7:55 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: or 15 potential one shots7:55 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: at 2k per one shot, you have a potential of 30k on your papre RIGHT NOW7:55 PM
Hanney: yeah, pretty good7:55 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: And this was done in 20 minutes smile7:56 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: I would encourage you to take a few hours this month and just jot down scenes you see and then follow ups for htem. If you never use them, that's totally okay. It helps with world building.7:56 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Now here's the next step we're going to take7:56 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: so you have your main scene and two follow ups7:56 PM
Chatzy closed the question after 22 responses:7:57 PM
Are you planning on attending at least one preparation workshop?
Yes
22 Mama Badger(Steph), Sam, ...
No
0
Hanney: much easier then staring at the page in Writers Panic because I can't figure out where to go next and I just really want to skip to another scene/part7:57 PM
krazikrys joined the chat7:57 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: i want you to go through your two follow ups and pick ONE.7:57 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: and from that one, think of how a character, not in that scene, would react if s/he heard of it.7:57 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: and then jot down that as a scene7:57 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: make sense?7:57 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: So say Character A and B go get ice cream7:58 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Character C hears they get ice cream - what is their response?7:58 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: jealousy? pure rage? annoyance? disdain?7:58 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Perhaps character c hates a and hopes he choked on a jimmy.7:58 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: perhaps character c struggles with feeling left out so now c is jealous because they didn't invite them7:58 PM
housekat: lol7:58 PM
housekat: i like choking better lol7:59 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: or maybe c is allergic to dairy and wound bemoan about how unfair life is7:59 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: or maybe c just doesn't give a shit.7:59 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: and a tells them they got ice cream and c is like "um, why are you even telling me this? You're lame."7:59 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: apathy can be an interesting scene just as much as action7:59 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: okay! This challenge I'm going to give you 10 minutes. Try it for at least 2 of your follow ups. This will take a little more thinking.8:00 PM
DreamWriter joined the chat8:00 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Ready? Go!8:00 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS closed the chat8:00 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS opened the chat8:11 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: How'd you do8:11 PM
Hanney: half-way through a scene...awesome idea...it's helping me with the part when the person (love-interest, maybe) investigates my FMCs past and finds the truth...8:12 PM
Hanney: and he just can't understand why she doesn't talk about it. why she hides it...even from her "friends"8:13 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Oh that's awesome8:13 PM
housekat: i thought of something that hadn't occurred to me before that will help the two MCs bond8:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: That's awesome big grin8:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: The final step is pretty simple - kind of8:14 PM
Hanney: big grin8:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Once it's all over, nano is done, take all your scenes and view them together - figure out the order they should go in and write connections between if needed8:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: And then yo'ull have your novel.8:14 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Quilting works great, but it does require a litle more editing post first draft8:15 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: Alright, so I think we might be wrapping up. Any final questions8:16 PM
Hanney: it does work great...still bothers me, somehow, though that I can't think of an opening/beginning scene...just a lot of middle stuff...8:17 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: That's okay. Sometimes once you et going you'll realize the opening8:17 PM
Hanney: when you did it, did you have a beginning? Did you find that beginning later on when you pieced it together? Or did it come to you after NaNo?8:18 PM
Hanney: ok...thanks!8:18 PM
RealHousewifeofAYS: it came later uring the editing process8:18 PM
Hanney: I hope so...what's a book without a beginning...LOL8:18 PM
Hanney: ah, ok...that's encouraging!8:18 PM
Samantha: A very sad book, Hanney8:18 PM
Hanney: (I'm such an organized/order freek...and this book isn't wanting to follow that rule)