This side-story can intersect with the main story at any time in your tale. It can add tension, excitement, or a sliding door effect—moments in life where a decision somehow alters the character’s entire life. The moments he/she could have chosen A but went with B instead, so they wonder what their lives would have been like if they’d made the opposite decision.
Examples of plot versus subplot:
Plot—Main protagonists move into a haunted house.
Subplot—A couple who moved into the house a century before the main protagonists.
Plot—A woman discovers she’s a long lost daughter of Zeus and must complete seven tasks to enter Mount Olympus.
Subplot—Told from the point of view of another daughter of Zeus, who sabotages the woman’s efforts.
Plot—Hero and heroine fall in love, fighting it the whole way.
Subplot—Hero’s brother falls in love with the heroine's sister, but this couple does not fight it.
With this example, the author can use that secondary love story to show where the hero and heroine went wrong and vice versa.
Famous subplots:
Inigo Montoya’s quest for revenge in The Princess Bride.
The other people affected by the war between the Montagues and Capulets in Romeo and Juliet.
The adventures of Legolas and Aragon in Lord of the Rings.
GENA: In The Evil Queen, I made the heroine’s sister the subplot. I hoped to show what happened when the two girls were faced with the same dilemma but made opposite choices. Who made the right choice, and who made the wrong one?
Do you have a subplot in your story? What is its purpose? What is your goal?
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Bonus Assignment: Develop a goal for another character that comes in contact with a main character. Do the two goals meet/clash?
Day 54
Over-Explaining
GENA: I wrote 4 different rough drafts of The Evil Queen. You read that correctly. Four. From scratch. It took forever, but I kept making the same mistake. Whatever plot I placed my characters in, I kept over-explaining the world, the rules of the world, every mythological species and magical power, never allowing the information to roll out organically. For my fourth and final draft, I decided to write a heroine who was brand new to the story world I was crafting. As she learned about the world, the reader learned about the world. This mindset kept me from expounding on topics irrelevant to her current circumstances.
Although, you don’t want to under-explain, either, which leads to confusion. Your goal is balance. Figure out what is needed, what is icing, and what is overkill. Just because you research something and it's smart or informative, the entirety of the details might not belong in your tale. Your goal is to hold the reader's interest in the story and stave off any confusion.
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Day 55
Pacing Day by Day
Let’s say you want to write a 60,000 word book in three months. To figure out how much you need to write each day, you’ll divide 90 days into 60,000. The answer—670—is your daily word count goal.
Now let’s say you want to write it in three months, but you don’t want to write on the weekends. You’ll subtract the weekends, leaving you with 66 days to finish your story. That means you need to write 910 words a day.
But (there’s always a but, isn’t there?) you want to give yourself a week to read through and edit, which means you’ll subtract seven more days...which means you now need to write 985 words a day.
Oh, but now you realize Thanksgiving falls during those three months, so you need to take out 3 days for cooking, driving, visiting with friends or family and watching football.
Keep an eye on your calendar, there’s always things like doctor appointments, work parties and family obligations that will eat into your writing time.
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Day 56
Reflect and Catch Up
Write the story on your heart, regardless of trends. Readers will feel your passion in it.
And please know that first drafts are ugly. They are like warped skeletons - bare bones that will make you cringe. The true beauty comes during the drafting process. Revise, rewrite, delete what you don't need, add details and layers - each draft you'll see the story progressing into what you've envisioned. It takes time. We as writers tend to be super hard on ourselves and incredibly impatient with the process, but every step is important when crafting a story. It's too easy to give up during the ugly stage. Keep going! You are the advocate for the characters and world you've created. If you love it, fight for it, even if it means fighting your own self. Insecurity can be crippling to a creative mind. You've got to believe and be gentle with yourself.
~New York Times bestselling author, Wendy Higgins
Day 57
What’s Your Number?
Let’s delve deeper into word count. So many new authors ask established authors how long their books are, because they are unsure how long their own book should be. The easy answer is: As long as it needs to be.
A full length novel can be anywhere from 40k to 100k (or more!) words. A novella is usually around 20k - 40k thousand words. Shorter stories are usually around or under 15,000.
Traditional publishers often have a specific word count they’d prefer you to follow. This information can be found on their website (usually under guidelines.) There might be some leeway, though, and you or your agent can negotiate the word count so that it’s spelled out in your contract.
For those authors interested in self-publishing, you have the flexibility to make the book as long or as short as you want. Keep an eye on the genre, though; straying too far out of the norm can frustrate readers. For instance, paranormals are often over 80,000 words or more while cozy mysteries can clock in at 40,000. Reverse those numbers and you can see why readers might be disappointed or shocked if you deviate.
GENA: Most of my books are around 100k–120k words. My longest book, The Darkest Warrior, is 140k words. I tend to write longer novellas, as well, that come in anywhere from 30k - 60k. (A typical short story is usually under 45k words, which some consider the minimum count for a full length novel.) One time, I did write a short novella with an extremely complex plot–Ever Night. Looking back, I realize the story required 100k words. It was a mistake on my part, but a great learning experience.
JILL: My goal is always two thousand words a day or 10,000 words a week, so sometimes I must work on the weekend to catch up (and one of the reasons we gave you every seventh day off in this book). I aim for 50k words for my stories, but after editing and revising, they’ll land closer to 65k.
There are factors you can consider to help you decide on your story’s length. Is your plot simple or complex? The more complex the plot is, the more pages you’ll need to let it unfold.
Are you building a whole new otherworld? If so, you’ll probably need to write a longer book to paint the stage and explain the dynamics. How many characters populate your story world? The more there are, the more page room you need for descriptions and personalities. Do you have a subplot? If so, you might need to write a longer book.
If you’re aiming for a specific publisher and your expected word count is too small, consider layering in additional descriptions or a subplot that runs parallel to your story.
Your assignment: Double your daily word count! Write roughly 500 words for your novel.
Day 58
Scenes Still Left To Write
As a new author, you might not have a lot of practice writing different types of scenes or showcasing different kinds of emotions through thought/action/character. Look through the list below and see if you’ve written about these topics at some point. If not, consider writing one as practice. No time spent writing is wasted. You might even strike a well of inspiration!
A kiss
Being chased by bad guys
A fight between two people
Groveling/an apology for a terrible wrong
Grief/sorrow
Uncovering shocking news
Embarrassment
A first time to do something
Being startled in the night
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Day 59
All Aboard! Next Stop: To Research or Not To Research?
Maybe you carved out a chunk of writing time, only to realize that you need to research something first. Anything from the fall of Rome to the average cost of a wool coat in New Zealand around 1859. So, you stop writing and fire up a search engine, and wind up passing minutes... then hours browsing your news feeds, reading articles, or looking at pictures, all or none of which is related to your query. By the time you get ready to write again, you’ve lost your flow.
When you choose to write on a computer, the danger of distraction is very real. Whenever you stop, it can be difficult to start up again! Unless the details are vital to your plot, we recommend not stopping to research. Instead, it helps to write yourself a note about what you need to study, then move on. Once you’ve left the inspiration-zone or completed your daily goal, you can go back and do some research.
If you feel you need to research now because the information could determine the direction of your story, go for it. Just be sure you are pressing forward in your draft, not standing still.
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Bonus assignment: Set a timer for 20 minutes and write straight through, expanding on what you wrote yesterday.
Day 60
Most Asked Question
GENA: One of my most asked questions by new writers is “How long are your chapters?” While different authors will have different answers, I’m happy to give you a point of reference. I usually write 2000–3000 words per chapter. I’ve written less, and I’ve written more. Some chapters require more information/action/dialogue than others. But I never start writing thinking I need a specific number of words in any given chapter. I let the scene flow the way it needs to flow, stopping when it reaches a natural end or an excellent hook.
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Day 61
How To End A Chapter
As you are writing, you can look for spots that shout “This is the perfect scene ender!” Here are some organic ways to end a scene or chapter.
A shocking bit of dialogue
A big discovery
A cliffhanger
Foreshadowing
The arrival of another character
The need to move to a new location
Spooky imagery
A witty one-liner
A point is made
Someone walks away
How do your favorite authors end their chapters?
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Day 62
You Know What You Know
There’s an old adage: Write what you know. But we say: Write what you can imagine!
We’ve never fought a vampire or flown through the clouds with an angel, but we were able to visualize it, so we were able to write it.
Whatever action you’re writing, try to imagine experiencing it for yourself. How would you feel? Frightened? Excited? What would you see, smell, touch and taste? How would your body react?
Sometimes, writing about something you’ve never done can be difficult. You might need help to get yourself in the right frame of mind. Consider watching a movie or TV show with a similar mood and tone that you are going for. Listen to music that evokes the emotion you need. Remember, you magnify what you focus on, and not just in your writing. External factors can affect your imagination just as surely as your imagination can affect your characters.
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Day 63
Reflect and Catch Up
The First Fear For a Writer is the Fear of Getting Started
On the surface it sounds ridiculous. How hard can it be to get started? But it’s easy to say you’re going to be a writer. You tell people at work you’re going to get going on that book. You tell your significant other that you need the spare bedroom for an office. And you start googling vacation homes you’re going to buy when the money starts rolling in.
It’s easy to talk about writing. It’s a lot more difficult when you’re sitting in front of the blank computer screen with that little cursor blinking at you.
Suddenly you’re thinking that a hundred thousand words is a lot. Really, really a lot. And the idea that hit you in the middle of the night that seemed so fabulous is completely lame. And the characters who are constantly chattering in the back of your mind when you’re trying to concentrate on something else, suddenly don’t have a thing to say. The next thing that happens is that you’re completely overwhelmed.
When that happens, I try to remember that it’s just about doing something. Anything. It can be little. A description of the town where you’re setting the book. Or a scene with the main character drinking coffee and reading the newspaper.
Big goals come from small steps. And if you want to do a lot, it sometimes means aiming only for a little.
We’re told by those who’ve succeeded that you have to push toward your goal, that only hard work and sweat will allow you to reach the finish line. And that’s great when your mind isn’t blank and that stupid curser isn’t blinking at you. Sometimes you have to give yourself a break. Don’t sit down to write War and Peace. The key is creating goals that you can achieve. It’s too easy to quit if you’ve set the bar too high.
Be kind to yourself, and know that as long as you’re moving forward you’re going to reach the finish line.
–by New York Times bestselling author Alexandra Ivy
Day 64
Break a Leg!
Not every character needs a fun motto or saying associated with their character, but a good catchphrase can provide added insight into their life and (hopefully) stick with a reader long after they finish reading the book.
A catchphrase can be something a character says as encouragement for themselves, like a rallying cry, a mantra, or a bit of advice they live by. This slogan should be important to them for one reason or another. It can point to a specific person, place, time, event or thought. It can be a joke, come from a traumatic past event, or spring from a fond memory. It can even be a hope or a dream they hold onto with all of their might, or as simple as, “Balls!” But, it is almost always short and sweet.
One of our favorites comes from the Immortals After Dark series by Kresley Cole. “Nucking Futs Nïx” is the nickname of Nïx the Ever-Knowing, and it tells you so much about her personality right off the bat.
GENA: I’d never really thought about character catchphrases until writing Alice in Zombieland. Kat, a reader favorite, likes to say “True story.” Many readers loved her and used her catchphrase when speaking to me. I think it made Kat more relatable. Nowadays, I like to give one of my main characters a mantra they use to encourage or chastise themselves, and there’s always a reason for it.
Do any of your favorite fictional heroes and heroines have a catchphrase? Should one of your characters have one?
Your assignment: Write roughly 250 words for your novel.
Bonus assignment: Brainstorm a catchphrase or mantra for one of your characters. For fun, maybe a friend, love interest or sidekick can have an opposite one.
Day 65
Finding Inspiration for Descriptions
As you write, you might need to draw inspiration from the real world. Photos of a mansion, perhaps, to help you describe where your villain resides. For the sake of accuracy, you’ll probably need to do some research. Maybe you can’t immediately recall what houses in the Tudor style look like, or the kind of safety signage in front of a factory. Just as we write “RESEARCH” in a spot requiring
further study, we often add “PUT DESCRIPTION HERE” when we’re on a roll and don’t want to stop to set the scene. This is helpful when the description just isn’t coming to mind or you want to check the visuals against your memory.
Years ago, authors turned to fashion magazines and architectural guide books to help flesh out their descriptions. Nowadays, we’re just a click away from stunning scenes, warm interiors, and the latest trends. You can even read reviews about real-world locations that might make an appearance in your book.
All Write Already: Year Of Your Book Page 8
