Hi all,
I have a great opening line for my novel, it just popped into my head. How do I remember it if we can't write anything down (in terms of prose) untill November 1? Is this happening to the rest of you? I have not figured out the real meat of my plot yet, but I do know what I want to say with it,so different ways of presenting it keep coming to me. (LOl, now if only my characters would be so forthcoming about themselves...)
Free
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"When she said she was dying to find out what happened next, she wasn't kidding...The gotta. ..You didn't know exactly where to find the gotta, but you always knew when you did." Stephen King, Misery
32,392 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 20 59
Nothing says you can't plan like crazy! I am! And one way I'm doing that is posting for plot help on the Realism/Q&A forum! Also, I've been scribbling out wild ideas whenever I get the chance in a spiral. Since I plan to type my entire novel, they're just like little reminders for me when the time to write comes around.
Write your ideas down! Don't lose them!
61,120 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 21 06
Definitely make notes! It's not even cheating. :)
----------~Mel
co-ML for Brisbane, Australia
Captain of the Purple Ninja Nightowls (of Death)
2007 - Queen of Diamonds
2008 - Shuriken
15,623 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 22 28
As far as I understand, you can write about the story and the characters to keep things up for the planning stage, you just can't write anything of the -actual story-. Otherwise, plot notes aren't cheating at all, they're just helpful. x3
----------"Perhaps or perhaps not, it does not matter. What matters is what is, not what may have been. Promise me that you will remember, but you will not forever relive...it is not good to live within a memory."
-In the Past, '08
23,318 / 50,000
Oct 9, 2008 - 23 14
You can adopt opening lines and dialogue. And technically those are already written down.
So I think you can write down your opening line without a problem.
----------NaNo '07: A Zombie Story (50k+, unfinished)
NaNo '08: Undecided
26,856 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2008 - 00 10
So I think you can write down your opening line without a problem.
On that note... put your line in the "Adopt an Opening Line" thread... and then adopt it yourself! ;)
I think it's OK to write it down. If you're really worried then just don't include it in your final word count.
40,497 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2008 - 03 07
I agree. If the notion of "cheating" bothers you that much, then just don't include your opening line in your final word count. But I really don't think it's something you need to be too concerned about, and considering how important the opening line can be...
Last year, the perfect opening line for my NaNo came to me a couple of days ahead of time, too. It was something like, "The candles melted slowly into pools of wax that, to her eyes, glittered like attractive jewels." and I didn't want to loose it, so I jotted down "candles melting, wax, glittering" to give myself a reminder. Of course, I was also much closer to NaNo than we are now, so this might not be feasible for you.
----------NaNo 2006 = Cloudburst = 14k
NaNo 2007 = Redeeming Pandora's Curse - WINNER
NaNo 2008 = Borrowed Time
My Writing Blog: Illuminated Words
23,693 / 50,000
Oct 10, 2008 - 11 28
OK, I am not posting it in the adopt-a threads, because no one is allowed to take it! But my opening line (which will be typed in some kind of neat font, cause it's actually someone's handwritten note) is : Listen to your heart. Every time it beats, it tells you something.
I just love it. Talk about sum up my book in twenty words or less! I'm not letting this one get away.
----------"When she said she was dying to find out what happened next, she wasn't kidding...The gotta. ..You didn't know exactly where to find the gotta, but you always knew when you did." Stephen King, Misery