Artwork created by iKïyå§ama , using a
gift certificate purchased and donated by Leila .
Thanks, Leila and Kiya!

Welcome to our public site, we are currently closed to new writers.
If all goes well we will be starting a new project in January of 2013.
(Current active members: 28)

Want to Participate in other ways?
You can sponsor one or more of our writers at "Novel Writing: 101 (Sponsor Form)" )
Any gp donations can be sent to "Novel Writing: 101 (Group and Bank)"  (#1759778)

Do you want to write a novel? I do. What's stopping us? Is it a lack of organization? Perhaps we need a bit more motivation? I know some of you will say you don't even know where to start.

This is a place where we can attempt to overcome the roadblocks mentioned above, and perhaps figure out how to work around others we will find along the way.

This is not NaNoWriMo; although, I love NaNo and plan to have this activity wrapped up by October so that those who wish to participate will have a break between the two. This is a much slower paced activity. There will be 40 assignments over 40 weeks. Each will build on the one before it until we will have a complete first draft of your novel.

In January 2011 I joined a group started by another WDC member called "So...you want to write a novel." This group fell apart when he missed several assignments in a row - he did not log on to the site for these weeks, so members didn't know what to do. I had been working as an assistant to him, so I attempted to take over; but, I had no idea where he had intended to go with it and the group was not as coherent or successful as I am sure it would have been had he been able to continue his plan.

This activity is based upon that one, but I am taking my time to create a lesson plan, write the lessons and offer specific incentives as we go.

Be assured, every lesson has been written and is now 'hidden'. Each week a new assignment will be revealed. If, for any reason, I am not able to reveal the assignment, another member will have access to the code and will be able to edit this page as needed in my absence. If you are interested in being an assistant, please let me know.

I am a teacher in 'real-life'. I work as a middle- or high-school librarian. I have several years of management experience at Barnes & Noble and I am a writer, just like you. I have been working on several novels for over five years now and have run into several stumbling blocks to their completion. So, I went back to what I do best, research. I have read (and studied) several books and websites on the topics of writing, writing novels, reading novels and so on...and come up with this plan...I will be following it with you.

I admit, this is my first attempt to start a group like this and the 2012 class are my Guinea Pigs. If you see anything that could work better or have something you'd like to work on that I have overlooked, please let me know. I hope the 2013 class will run smoothly using what we learn together during this year.

Here are some of the books and websites that I have used in the creation of this project:

Novakovich, Josip. Fiction Writers Workshop. Story Press, 1995.
Sharp, Caroline. A Writer's Workbook. St. Martin's Griffith, 2000.
Stein, Sol. How to Grow a Novel. St. Martin's Griffith, 1999.
Stein, Sol. Stein on Writing. St. Martin's Griffith, 1995.
Watts, Nigel. "Writing a Novel", Teach Yourself, 2006.

Stackpole, Michael A. The Secrets: The Podcast for Serious Writers. http://www.stormwolf.com/thesecrets/podcasts/index.html

Yes, all case colors, membership levels, ages and...well anyone can join. The assignments will begin on January 1st, 2012. You have until the first assignment is due (Jan 9th) to get your entry fee into the bank.

I'd rather you didn't; however, the goal here is to finish a novel. So, if that's the novel you want to work on, I won't stop you.

That being said, I have created these lessons to help write a novel from the beginning. The first week is all about brainstorming and getting fresh ideas on paper into your computer. If you start with a novel that's mostly done, you are likely to get bored and frustrated.

Each participant should create a book item if they are able. If not, a single static item will work to start with.
Assignments will be turned in weekly. Vacations, emergencies and other events will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Late assignments will not remove you from later incentives, but you will forfeit that week's incentive.
A novel takes work. It takes time. I am expecting you to commit to writing for an hour each day. I cannot make you write, but I can - and will - give about five hours of work for each week. The more you put into this project, the more you will get out of it.

Yes, you may, but be very sure that your items are rated accurately.

This project is family friendly. I will keep everything that is group-related clean. I expect everyone to keep their posts family friendly, too.

Your items, however, are up to you. You can write about anything you want to. If you want to write horror or 'adult-themes' material - go ahead. Readers are expected to watch the ratings and read things which are appropriate for them, so I expect each of you to rate your items as a way for readers to judge their comfort level.

At no point will I demand that any member read a specific piece of another author. If we do review each other at any point, it will be up to each reader to choose materials that are appropriate.

Each participant must put up other at least 10,000 gift points of their own money. I highly recommend putting in as much as each can afford to keep the writer motivated through the 40 weeks. Additional gift points may be paid by other members, called sponsors. Any number of sponsors are allowed to help each participant bulk up their pool.

Gift points will not be refunded once the contest begins on January 1st, 2012.

Each writer has a 'pool' of gp's that are set aside specifically for them. These are gp's put in my the writer, their sponsors and other anonymous donors. This activity is going to match every pool, allowing each writer a chance to earn double their pool amount by completing their assignments on time.

Example: Tolstoy joins the group and signs the contract. He put in 10,000 gp's of his own. Another WDC member puts 50,000 into his pool as encouragement. As the activity goes on an anonymous donot sends 100,000gp's to be split between all 37 writers...that comes to 2702 gp's per writer, which we add to his pool.
10,000
50,000
02,702
Tolstoy's pool is 62,702
If he completes every assignment on time he will have earned 125,404 by October 1st, and have a completed novel.

Each week that you complete an assignment you will earn back a percentage of the gift points you put up plus an additional reward through the group. By the end of the forty weeks you will have doubled your money. Early in the process the rewards will be small (1.5% of your pool) but as you progress the rewards will increase. Teh final week will be 6% fo your pool. If you have a complete novel (as judged by Meeple and her helpers) - no matter if your assignments were on time or not - you will earn the final bonus: the bulk of the remaining gp's which should be about 25% of the pool.)

Plus, you will have a chance at additional incentives such as merit badges, awardicons and other rewards through challenges.

They will go into the group fund.
The group fund will be used:
- to purchase incentives
- to purchase awards for challenges
- as the 'matching' portion of the project
- some gp's may be set aside to start out the 2013 Novel Writing: 101 Project.

Challenges are completely optional writing projects that may be completed to earn additional prizes. In Challenges, writers will compete against each other for a prize such as a merit badge. Judging will usually be done by an open WDC vote via a survey, or by a pre-selected group of members.

Challenges do not count towards your 'on-time assignment goals, nor will they make an assignment 'late' if you choose not to compete.

If you would like to throw out a challenge, please contact Meeple's on haitus, mostly with details. Please including a definite goal, a word count and what you are offering for prize(s). As an example, the first challenge was to write a book-jacket blurb for their book. Word Count of 50-100 words, and the prize was a merit badge.

Anyone who donated gp's to the group as a whole. Create a challenge, donate items/reviews/gp's...incentives of any kind that are not assigned to a specific person and you are a donor.

ID: 1759778   (Rated: E) Novel Writing: 101 (Group and Bank)  Grade book and bank for out 40-week step-by-step novel writing project. by Meeple's on haitus, mostly

Sponsors are WDC members who are encouraging specific writers. Gp's donations to individual pools are the simplest way to be a sponsor. Other ways to sponsor writers are to read and review a specific novel, send c-notes of encouragement or mentor someone you know as they tackle this project.

As many as you like!

Fill out this survey:

ID: 1831266   (Rated: E) Novel Writing: 101 (Sponsor Form)  Sponsor a writer in their attempt to complete a novel in 2012. by Meeple's on haitus, mostly

Then send gp's to

ID: 1759778   (Rated: E) Novel Writing: 101 (Group and Bank)  Grade book and bank for out 40-week step-by-step novel writing project. by Meeple's on haitus, mostly

These are separate because anyone sending gp's through the survey is charged a fee. I'd like all the donated gp's to go directly into the writers pool, so I'd appreciate it if you'd take the extra moment to sent the gp's directly to our bank.

ASSIGNMENT:
Make your book item private by either adding a passkey or making it group only.

Due: 1/2
Incentive for completion: N/A
Additional Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:
Brainstorm about plot, character, setting.
Brainstorm about theme.
Define your characters purpose.

Due: 1/8
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

CHALLENGE:
Write a blurb that will catch readers attention and make them want to buy your book over all the others.

Additional Prize: The blurb that people most want to read as decided via an open-to-the-WDC-public vote, will win a merit badge.

A plot requires causality. If one event does not lead to another the reader may lose interested or become confused. (As with all rules there are exceptions...but you must know how to work within the rules before you can successfully break them.)

Plots require four elements:
1. Two (or more) characters
2. At least one protagonist (can be #1, but may be a new character...or a new pair or a group.)
3. Conflict. What is the main issue that your characters must overcome?
4. Resolution to the conflict.

ASSIGNMENT:
Write out every conflict you can think of that will affect your characters. (An instance of drunk driving, brothers fighting over a photograph, unexplained telephone calls in the middle of the night...everything.)
Create a basic outline of your plot as explained in this weeks group email.

Due: 1/15
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:
Pick your main character(s) and fill out the character sheet (linked) basics, then pick five to ten of the open ended questions and answer them as well.

Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:
Write a scene from your novel however you feel it come out of your head.
Define its Point of View.
After reading email I sent to the group on Point of View, thoughtfully chose the point of view you will use in your novel. Write it down.
Copy and paste your first scene (it can be in the same entry or item) and re-write some or all of that same scene using the Point of View you choose. Re-read it, make sure every line is in the same PoV.
Now, write some or all of that scene using a completely different Point of View. The point here is to experiment. To be completely sure you have the PoV that is right for you and your characters now, early, in the beginning, so that you don't have to re-work your entire novel when you have 75,000 words to re-write. Write it in as many PoV as you want to, until you are sure about your choice.
Once you are happy with this scene, write another one, something significantly different in narrator, setting or action-level. Make sure the PoV you chose is right for that scene as well.

Due: 1/29
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

"Dialogue us almost too easy. For me. So much so that it makes me suspicious of it, so I have to be careful with it."

                                                 - James Jones

Dialogue is an integral aspect of novels. Of course, there are exceptions, but I am going to assume that you are not writing a novel entirely in narrative. If you have two characters talk to each other, then you need to be thinking about the 'do's and 'don'ts' of dialogue.

First off, what is it? Dialogue is basically conversation. If your characters talk to anyone - even if it's only themselves - you have dialogue.

Is it really that easy? No, nothing's ever that easy.

ASSIGNMENT:
Read (and re-read until you understand) the following: http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/qt/punctuation.htm and http://voices.yahoo.com/rules-grammar-punctuation-dialogue-writing-4063567.html .
Write at least 500 words of dialogue for each of your 5 chosen workdays this week. (That's 2500 words this week.) I won't tell you where they need to go, if your characters are talking to each other in your head, get that dialogue into your book. You may want to start labeling chapters in your book item, or you may find it easier to keep it all together now and copy & paste it elsewhere later...it's up to you.
I expect there will be specific questions that arise. Post them in "Dialogue Discussion"   and we can talk our way through trouble points as a group.
When you are done, post links to your dialogue here "ASSIGNMENT #5: Dialogue "  . Use {entry:######} if you are using a book item or {item:######} if you have a static item.

Due: 2/5
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:
Write your first chapter. It can be as long or short as it needs to be; however, be sure it grabs your readers attention and introduces at least one important element of the puzzle that is your plot. (If you've already done that, simply write at least 2500 words over the course of the week.)
Post your completed assignments here: "ASSIGNMENT #6: Beginnings"  . Use {entry:######} if you are using a book item or {item:######} if you have a static item.

Due: 2/12
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:
Write at least 2500 words for the week.
Write about a character in pain (physical or mental)

Due: 2/19
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

Write at least 2500 words for the week.
Write about something humorous

Due: 2/26
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:
Read what you have written for far and answer these questions for yourself:
* Are you happy with where your plot is going?
* Have you introduced all of your main characters?
* Have you created a clear image of where this is taking place, and when?
Post in the forum when you are happy with your novel and ready to move forward.

Due: 3/4
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:
Write at least 2500 words for the week anywhere in your novel

Due: 3/11
Incentive for completion: 1% of your gift point pool + .5% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:
Write at least 2500 words for the week.
Create an entry for your "Last Chapter'
Write down all the loose ends that will need to be tied up by the end of the book.

Due: 3/18
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:
Write at least 2500 words for the week.
Write about an item that is important to your main character, then take it away.

Due: 3/25
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 4/1
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 4/8
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 4/15
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 4/22
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 4/29
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 5/6
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 5/13
Incentive for completion: 2% of your gift point pool + 1% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 5/20
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 5/27
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 6/3
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 6/10
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 6/17
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 6/24
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 7/1
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 7/8
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 7/15
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 7/22
Incentive for completion: 3% of your gift point pool + 1.5% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 7/29
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

Due: 8/5
ASSIGNMENT:



Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 8/12
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 8/19
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 8/26
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 9/2
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 9/9
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 9/16
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 9/23
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

ASSIGNMENT:



Due: 9/30
Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive:
Special Prize:

We've done it! The few, the proud...the (mostly) complete!
(Here) is a link to the winners circle party.
Please stop by to collect your diploma, your congratulations and a few wonderful prizes.

Incentive for completion: 4% of your gift point pool + 2% in matching pool funds.
Additional Incentive: Upon posting your completed novel you will receive the last 50% of the matching pool funds.
Special Prize: Donors of at least 10,000 will receive a merit badge as a thank you for their ongoing encouragement of their novelist.
Opening: 9/30

ID: 1759778   (Rated: E) Novel Writing: 101 (Group and Bank)  Grade book and bank for out 40-week step-by-step novel writing project. by Meeple's on haitus, mostly

ID: 1831246   (Rated: E) Novel Writing: 101 (Contract)  A contract between the writer and the class. by Meeple's on haitus, mostly