Top #NaNoWriMo Resources

The NaNoWriMo Forums are a wonderful place to hang out--if you're not writing your novel. If you are hard at work, you don't have time to browse and socialize with other novelists. So I decided to check out the resources being posted in the forums and give you one place to check them out.

Today I'm highlighting some resources for plotting your novel. Here are three you might want to bookmark for future novels:

 Peter Halasz has created a huge resource in a small space. The Writers Cheatsheet (.pdf download) is a two-page sheet crammed with all kinds of information writers need to know. The first sheet is covered with every type of plot resource you can imagine. The second sheet is devoted to characters, with lists of personality types and archetypes. If you print this back to back and slide it into a page protector, you've got a handy reference.

Adventures in YA and Childrens Publishing has a plotting Complications Worksheet that asks questions for every point in a book's plot. Working through this list will expose the holes in your plot. I pasted the questions into a document and answered each one. They really made me think!

And Carolyn at Iconoclastic Writers has several really helpful downloads. I've checked out all of them, and plan to use them. There's a novel storyboard worksheet, a traditonal plot storyboard worksheet, a screenwriting worksheet, and a chapter storyboard worksheet. You'll also find links and suggestions for character development.

I hope these resources are useful. I'm heading back into my NaNo novel. How about you?

For more in this series, check out Idea Generators, Part 1 and Idea Generators, Part 2.