No Plot? No Problem! by Chris Baty (book review)

Let Chris Baty, founder of the rockin’ literary marathon National Novel Writing Month (a.k.a. NaNoWriMo), guide you through four exciting weeks of hard-core noveling. Baty’s pep talks and essential survival strategies cover the initial momentum and energy of Week One, the critical “plot flashes” of Week Two, the “Can I quit now?” impulses of Week Three, and the champagne and roar of the crowd during Week Four. Whether you’re a first-time novelist who just can’t seem to get pen to paper or a results-oriented writer seeking a creative on-ramp into the world of publishing, this is the adventure for you.

So what are you waiting for? The No Plot? approach worked for the thousands of people who’ve signed up for NaNoWriMo, and it can work for you! Let No Plot? No Problem! help you get fired up and on the right track.

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This book was recommended to me by another writer, so I picked it up to see what it’s about. I didn’t know anything about it before hand, so I didn’t realize it’s essentially a guide on how to succeed at NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Though the book is geared toward completing NaNoWriMo (writing 50,000 words in thirty days), this book could also be titled “How to Finish Your First Draft,” as the emphasis really is on finishing that first round of your book in all it’s terribly glory.

I know many people who do well plotting and outlining manuscripts for weeks (or months) before writing — this book isn’t for them. It’s for those writers who can’t seem to finish the first draft.

This book won’t tell you how to write well or how to create dynamic characters. The point is to simply FINISH THAT MANUSCRIPT! If that’s your biggest struggle, this is the book for you.

A couple of things worth mentioning:

1. This really is written for people ACTIVELY writing 50,000 words/month. If you aren’t, then you can skip four chapters near the end (one for each week of a monthly writing spree).
2. The font is a bit smaller than usual, which isn’t a huge issue, but I did find it hard to read the gray sidebars. Not only was the font smaller, but the thin letters on the gray page were hard to read. I skipped most of those as it wasn’t worth the effort to try to read them (younger people might not have that issue).

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone struggling to finish their first draft. This truly is a book about how to get yourself to write 50,000 words/month, but it’s not going to help you write something coherent. (You’ll have to edit for that.)

Get your copy here!

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