DAY ONE

You absolutely have to hit your word count for Day One. Even if it means staying up to 3am you have to get that 1667 words (or whatever targetyou set) nailed. Otherwise, you'll go to bed miserable and guilty, instead of warmed by the glow of having faced the Nanobeast and survived the first round.

By now you should have worked out your daily word quota. I'm going for 2000 words a day. I have a vague plan - a lot vaguer than it was, after yesterday's attack of plot munchies - but it doesn't amount to much. How the Hell am I going to write 2000 words?

My first step is "Donna is asked to try to find out what happened to a missing schoolgirl." That's got to be spun out to 2000 words. I'm breaking that down into five chunks, each of about 400 words.

1. PROLOGUE. A spooky opening where Donna experiences the final moments of an unidentified victim.
2. CHAPTER ONE. Donna is contacted by the mother of a missing schoolgirl, Judy, and is asked to help.
3. Donna goes to the mother's house and meets her.
4. The mother specifies she wants Donna to use a Ouija board to communicate with the spirit world.
5. Donna, reluctantly, complies and receives a garbled message suggesting murder.

So, that's 5x400 words, and looking pretty do-able. And each part has a purpose. But I could break it down even further.

1. PROLOGUE. A description of the final moments of an unidentified victim, from their point of view. Purpose - a dramatic opening, setting the appropriate menacing tone.
   
2. We discover this is actually being expereinced by Donna, the MC. Purpose - to establish that Donna believes her psychic powers are genuine. Also, a bit of misdirection, as the reader should assume this is what happened to the missing schoolgirl we are about to meet. Which is not, infact, the case.
3. CHAPTER ONE. Donna receives a phone call from the mother of a missing school girl.
4. The mother explains she wants Donna to try to contact her daughter, who she believes is dead.
5. Donna travels to the mother's house, and meets the mother. She observes the mother is morbidly obese and either too ashamed, or incapable, of coming to vsit Donna's house.
6. Donna observes the living room of the mother's house, noting various items. Purpose is to establish that Donna is observant and intuitive - there is a concurrent rational explanation for her deductions f you don't like the psychic option.
7. The mother drags out a Ouija board and asks Donna to use it.
8. Donna reacts with disgust, though she doesn't show it. Purpose it to show, again, that Donna is genuine in her intentions if not in her gift - she dsislike parlour tricks and showmanship, and regards the Ouija Board as silly.
9. She uses the Ouija board, concentrating on a photograph on the mother's mantelpiece - the missing girl playing soccer with her school team. This will allow Donna to identify the girl when she encounters her, as she'll have a clear idea what she looks like. A lso allows her to unconsciously register her involvement with sports.
10. After completing the seance, the board has spelled out a garbled message that might indicate murder - though crucially the time frame is lacking. The mother takes this as meaning her daughter has been murdered. Donna is surprised by the strange satidsfaction she seems to take in this.

So now I'm looking at 10x200 words to complete this 'step.'

There is a trade off, because you can focus so much on breaking down the action into chunks that you lose more time than you gain, and it may also lead to a feeling of trundling along the steps of a pre-planned route with no scope left for flair or creativity. So you'll have to decide how much preplanning you do, and how far aherad. I'm aiming to 'map out' each night's work, but some of you, I know, already have the whole novel planned out. Some of you have nothing at all. I salute you all!