NaNoWriMo starts in less than 30 days. One of the keys to being successful is planning ahead.
Today’s writing prompt (which I totally stole from John Waverly and am using here without his permission or foreknowledge) has three parts.
1. Brainstorm ideas for possible novels. Make a looooong list. At least 20 to 25 ideas. Stretch a little. Include ideas in genres that you may not normally write or read.
2. From your long brainstorming list, pick three story lines that really speak to you. Find the ones with the energy behind them. If you want to be really grow as a writer, pick one of your stretch ideas.
3. Write a short paragraph about each idea—along the lines of what you might read on the back cover or inside flap of a published novel. Then let those three story lines simmer for a few days before selecting the one you’ll write during NaNo.
If you participate, leave a comment and let us know how it went. If you’re really brave, post your writing on your blog and share your link with us. Feel free to encourage your blog visitors to participate and link back here to this post.