NaNoWriMo: First problems

[janestarz]

Okay, I am officially stuck.

My plot is going nowhere and I haven't a clue on how to fix it. My main characters don't even know what they're doing -- which isn't all too strange since they're on a boat going to live overseas, and they're stuck there for god knows how long and that just isn't very interesting at all.
Swashbuckling gentleman has pretty suddenly changed from potential Love Interest and Gossip Causer to Friend of the Family. Everybody seems to want to steal the husband's research, but nobody knows what it is, exactly, least of all me, so that seems to be going nowhere either.
I've contemplated sinking the boat, but I don't see where that would take me.

If I'm writing a book, I'd rather write something that's worth reading in stead of writing something that seems to be going nowhere. I might be setting myself some high standards, but I'd like to write a book I'd actually like to read...

Comments

[muizenstaartje.livejournal.com]

I think it's in the "writer's rules" by Pixar: write down the ending first. The middle isn't even that important.
Although I do think that the journey needs to be pleasant and the middle of a story deserves attention, a poor ending leaves a bad taste once you finish reading. Usually when you feel like you're writing about nothing and in circles, having a clear goal in mind helps. Even if it's a small goal like a certain scene.
There must be online random plot generators you could use to poke at your own plot generator.

Sinking the boat when you don't know where that will take you does not sound good. Only sink the boat if it's needed to get somewhere. You may not want to tell yet, but how is your story going to end? You're the first one who's taking this journey through the book and the first one to find out. Once you know, I think writing will become filled with less "this is going nowhere" issues. Maybe there's more than one ending, but while writing you'll end up at one.

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

I'm probably a horrible writer for saying this, but I don't have a clue where the story is going. When I started writing, it seemed like an adventure to write about a young couple moving abroad and taking a large Titanic-like ship to get there. I think the only thing that was guarantueed to happen was that they docked on the other side of the ocean.
In the big scheme of things, I have no idea what kind of Major Thing the plot is about yet. I believe its time for a serious sit-down to contemplate this...

[muizenstaartje.livejournal.com]

Maybe if you can't figure out what the Big Thing is, you could focus on smaller things you could write towards as you do have a deadline. Things people would do when they are bored and stuck in one place (throw a surprise party, start a fight, have movie/theater night) or things that usually can happen on a ship (food gets eaten by rats, a small fire, bad weather, an encounter with another ship).
You mentioned you want the story to be interesting, so maybe you could write something small and interesting (or a series of small events) while you work out the large scheme.

[janestarz.livejournal.com]

I think maybe I should take the whole story back 200 years into the Golden Age of Piracy, when men were indecent and women secretly loved it...
Pirates!
We'll see if it works...

[muizenstaartje.livejournal.com]

There are so many things you could do! As long as you have fun. Writing is hard work, so it should be fun at times too.

[charida.livejournal.com]

You might want to try and figure out what the research is about - that might just help you get the story going again. Would that help?

[watzalikzeggen.livejournal.com]

Ik vind dit wel een leuke columnreeks over Nanowrimo, misschien heb jij er ook wat aan?

http://www.schrijvenonline.org/tips/nanowrimo-tips-de-tweede-week