No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days

No Plot? No Problem! is a guide to giving in to your muse rapidly, without questioning her instincts, or the the rhyme or reason of your newly manifested prose. Anyone interested in participating in the phenomenon that is NaNoWriMo, anyone who wants to start and complete a first draft of a novel in record time, should read this book, at least once.

MY STORY: National Novel Writing Month 2004 started on Nov 1st of that year. It was Nov. 2nd when I remembered the event had started, so I grabbed a pre-existing novel idea/outline and jumped into the unknown. Nine days later and only 7,000 new words and I was done. I felt guilt for not being commited and shame for thinking I jumped into this unprepared...not to mention starting late. I chatted with a couple of people who said they spent two weeks prior doing story outlines and character drafts and that helped them finish, which only made me feel worse about my "unpreparedness". Thus I was able to justify my failure, forget it and move on within an hour of quiting and enjoy some chocolate chip cookies, guilt-free. After reading this book, I felt I could have and should have stuck with it regardless of how far behind I was by day 9. This book made me laugh, made me cry and made me feel inspired to take this challenge tonight and not wait till Nov. I read the book in a day, which is fast for me, and I left with more things to think about than things forgotten. Too often writing books talk about starting with the notecards, then storyboarding then moving into characters, etc. This entire approach of just writing it and then "fixing" and figuring out all that other stuff after the fact is mind blowing and backwards to all the other writing advice books out there. BUT the more you examine the process (and see the thousands who have completed it) belief takes root that this is possible for everyone to write a novel. I'm not saying a good novel, but a novel nonetheless. The book contains great advice for surviving the four weeks and so many other tips that I don't want to give you a spoiler like a bad movie trailer. You just need to read the book for yourself and then take the challenge. I know I'm more prepared now that I have a bit more direction thanks to this easy to ready, entertaining book. **Updated NOTES** I still refer to this book each year, and again as I prepare for NaNoWiMo 2008. Since first reading this book I have succeed in completing this monthly challenge in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Ready for another year!

March 5: I picked up Baty's book and started reading it. March 6: I started writing my own book, doing most of my writing in the evening when my toddler was asleep. April 3: I typed my 50,739th word to conclude a rough first draft of a story I've been planning to write for the last nine years. April 16: I was diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. Hey, if I can stay focused on writing a novel for a month, you can too. Definite credit goes to Baty, whose practical, enthusiastic book kept me feeling optomistic about my ability to finish. ADD makes me easily distracted and if I'd tried this with a negative attitude ("I'm going to write a book in a month that I haven't been able to finish in nine years?"), my attempt would have been doomed from the start. But Baty's week-by-week description of the monthlong process helped me keep my doubts and my inner editor at bay and keep going. Now if he would just write a book to nudge me through the rewriting process!

This is a superbly-written, user-friendly book for anyone who has ever had the whisper of an urge to write a book. Loaded with happy, helpful hints on how to prepare yourself to become a writer (from finding free time in your busy day to setting aside special "writing" clothes) and incredibly affirming encouragement, Baty's book is sure to entice the inner storyteller in any timid writer. Even veteran writers will enjoy revisiting of their experience of becoming novelists, however. I found myself grinning from ear to ear remembering my first novel attempt. I just loved this book!

Baty is a wonderful writer whose irreverent, inspiring book made me eager to sit down and write a novel in a month, which shows that his insanity is contagious. After reading his book, I felt too hip for words, like a real cutting-edge, hardcore, wild and crazy novelist, and I'm really looking forward to displaying my extreme novelling hip-ness to the world by sitting down in a coffeeshop and putting down vast quantities of questionable prose. Hey, I can always clean it up when I start rewrites, but there'll be nothing to rewrite if my fears and self-doubts keep me from writing a first draft at all. The advice on page 89 was especially helpful.

Whether you're a new writer or experienced, I can already think of a few reasons for owning this book. Key word: ATTITUDE. This book is amazing for "butt-in-chair, words-on-page" writing. The bottom line is that whether the writing is good or bad, you still have to get words written down before you can do anything else. I also like the format and layout. It's fun and unique, like a 'field guide' more than a writing book. Like a field guide, the first half of the book is all about the preliminaries, gearing up to do the job, just as if you were going rock-climbing or cross-country skiing: the equipment, the mindset, the little things (like good coffee). The second half is a four-week 'game plan' for the National Novel Wriring Month challenge. The nice thing is that this is a book you can use any time of year, not just for November. A great source of inspiration! (A fellow writer said to me, "I could never finish something like that." I persuaded her to sign up anyway, saying "Even if you don't finish, it'll still be more words on the page than you would have had otherwise, right?")