With November less than a week away, I thought I would provide a little assistance to those non-members who have stopped by the site and who are also going to be attempting NaNoWriMo.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month. Every November more than 100,000 people try to write a short (50,000 word) novel between midnight on Nov 1^st and midnight on Nov 30^th.

In the words of the program’s founders:

Valuing enthusiasm and perseverance over painstaking craft, NaNoWriMo is a novel-writing program for everyone who has thought fleetingly about writing a novel but has been scared away by the time and effort involved.

Because of the limited writing window, the ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It’s all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that’s a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and—when the thing is done—the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

I unofficially participated in NaNoWriMo back in 2006 and 2007. This year, I’m going to be doing so on a more formal basis, joining the ranks and posting my daily word counts to keep me pushing forward on a new work I’d like to see completed before the end of the year.

One thing I learned from previous attempts to write a novel in thirty days is that you need to be prepared ahead of time. The more prep work you do, the easier it is to meet your writing goals each and every day, which, of course, means you have a greater chance of completing the challenge overall.

I’ve heard many a would-be NaNoWriMoer (is that even a word/) state that their storyline just sort of fizzled out after a week’s worth of effort, that they didn’t know where to take it from there. Their failure is not due to a lack of effort, but rather a lack of understanding the structure of stories in general and a lack of applying that structure to the work they are doing.

So, in order to help my fellow NaNoWriMoers (I’ve decided it is now a word, so there!) come to grips with their stories ahead of time, here is a basic structure that you can find in many successful stories today and which might help you plan for the challenge ahead.

Step 1: Characters, Conflict, and Major Story Goal are introduced

At the very beginning of your story, the characters, the opposition/conflict, and the overall goal of the tale are introduced.

Step 2: Characters begin their journey

The characters will begin consciously or unconsciously making preparations for the “journey” or adventure that they will be undergoing throughout the tale. A deeper sense of their abilities and motivations is given to the reader during this section, a means of letting the reader “get to know them” better.

Step 3: First Goal is determined

The characters make a decision to take some action relative to helping them reach the story goal. That goal is identified for the reader, as are the reasons behind it.

Step 4: Actions are taken to reach that goal

The characters take some action designed to bring them closer to the goal outlined in the previous step.

Step 5: Characters are prevented from reaching their first goal

The first goal is thwarted, either through the actions of the opposition or some other circumstances that are not under the characters’ control.

Step 6: Characters react

The characters react to the fact that they failed to reach their goal.

Step 7: Stakes are raised

The stakes the characters are facing if they do not reach the story goal are raised, which in turn raises the tension and excitement of the story for the reader. This is also where the characters react to the raising of the stakes.

Step 8: A new (second) goal is developed

Determined not to let one set-back prevent them from reaching their goal, the characters develop a new, larger goal (since the stakes are now higher.)

Step 9: Actions are taken to reach the second goal

The characters take some action designed to bring them closer to the goal outlined in the previous step.

Step 10: Characters are prevented from reaching their second goal

The second goal is thwarted, again either through the actions of the opposition or some other circumstances that are not under the characters’ control.

Step 11: Characters react

The characters react to the fact that they failed to reach their goal for the second time.

Step 12: Stakes are raised

The stakes become even higher, with greater consequences in the event of failure. The characters react to this change.

Step 13: Low Moment Begins

At this point the characters are feeling their failures. They are demoralized and uncertain just what to do next. Some may even be on the verge of giving up. It is only the high stakes that keep them in the game now.

Step 14: Third Goal is developed

With uncertainty and confusion running rampant, the characters try to rally and push onward. A new goal is developed, though this time the specter of failure looms close at hand.

Step 15: Actions are taken despite uncertainty

Determined not to give up without a fight, the characters push through and attempt to reach the goal one more time, despite the fact that their chances of success look slimmer by the minute.

Step 16: Dark Time Begins

The characters fail miserably and the terrible circumstances they have been trying to avoid seem all too likely.

Step 17: Characters react to the dark time

Despair sets in as the characters reach their lowest emotional point in the story. Everything they feared is about to come to pass and they seem to be completely out of options. The stakes are at a fever pitch by this point.

Step 18: Pivotal change occurs

A crucial event takes place that makes the character’s all too well aware that they don’t have the option of failing. Maybe their lives are on the line. Maybe it is the life of a loved one or the fate of the entire world. Whatever it is, the characters must face it and decide that they have to give it go or die trying.

Step 19: Goals are revised one last time

For the last time, the characters set a goal and go for it with all they’ve got.

Step 20: Final showdown happens, the opposition is defeated and the characters react to their success

The characters face off against the opposition and this they succeed. The opposition is defeated and they are left to figure out just where they go from here.

So there you have it, a twenty step, tried and true plot structure that you can use to plan your NaNoWriMo novel ahead of time and be ready to go when the clock strikes midnight on Sunday.

I recently terminated my relationship with my literary agent. We’d been working together for just over seven years, but we were no longer seeing eye to eye on several issues and I felt it would be best for both of us if I simply moved on.

I’m one of those folks who strongly believe that a good literary agent can do wonders for your career, however, so I went right to work to find a new one. As part of my initial planning, I made a list of the top ten reasons why I wanted to work with an agent in the first place, so that when I began evaluating potential partners I could better separate the wheat from the chaff.

I know several writers who think that working with an agent is more trouble than it is worth, but I would respectfully disagree. The following list gives my reasons why working with an agent is better than going it on your own:

Reason #1 – An agent knows the marketplace better than you do

Given that it is an agent’s job to be aware of who is buying what from whom for how much, the vast majority of literary agents know the inner workings of the market better than most authors and it is their job to use that knowledge to your benefit.

Reason #2 – An agent has a personal relationship with multiple editors

An agent is, to some extent, a professional networker and has built up personal relationships with many editors over time. They know what certain editors like and don’t like when it comes to literary properties and they know what those editors have recently purchased, so they can help target your proposal to the individuals most likely to receive it in a positive manner.

Reason #3 – An agent understands contracts

The typical publishing contract is fifteen to twenty legal size pages of the most convoluted legalese I’ve ever seen and it is ripe with clauses that benefit the publisher rather than the writer. It is an agent’s job to understand what these clauses mean and to fight to remove or alter those that do not help your career. While you could educate yourself on the basics, an agent sees several of these a day and you would be hard pressed to meet their level of knowledge on your own without considerable time and effort.

Reason #4 – An agent is an experience negotiator

In the end it the agent’s job to get you’re the best offer and contract terms possible. This is what they do, day after day for client after client. They know just how much they can push a particular editor or publishing house, they know what is an acceptable counter offer and what is not, and they can advise you on what tact to take when the publisher offers terms that just aren’t acceptable.

Reason #5 – An agent protects your relationship with the editor

For one reason or another there often comes a time when the publisher had done something that you are unhappy with and that you would like to work to change. At the same time, you don’t want to alienate your editor or allow your anger/frustration over the issue to strain your working relationship. In times like these you agent can step in and play the “bad cop” for you, allowing you to work toward the result you want without damage to your editorial partnership.

Reason #6: Gives you an experienced third party view of your work

We’ve all been there – thought that our most recent effort is the best thing since the invention of sliced bread. Trouble is, we’re more often wrong on that score than right. A literary agent you trust can be a terrific third party filter for your ego. If the work isn’t up to par, they’ll tell you and often offer advice on how to fix the problem. And even better, if it is better than usual, they’ll be the first to tell you that too.

Reason #7: A literary agent can help guide you in your career

With their in-depth understanding of the market, both past and present, a good literary agent can often help guide you in building your career. They can offer advice on everything from writing in more than one genre to the advantages or disadvantages to working with specific editors or publishing houses.

Reason #8: Most literary agents have a network of foreign or sub-rights agents

Diversification can often be the savior of a mid-listers career and one way of doing this is branching out in other mediums (comics, audio, etc) or to other territories. Foreign rights often mean free money in a writer’s pocket (after all, the hard work of writing the book is already done) and so the more territories a work sells in the better off the author will be. Having a network of foreign agents to help market your work in other territories is well worth the commission you’ll pay to both agents.

Reason #9: Having a literary agent allows you to concentrate on the writing

Let’s face it – submitting a manuscript can be tedious work. You have to send the queries, prepare the manuscript according to each specific publisher’s requirements, send it out, follow up on it when you get a response, follow up on it when you don’t get a response, and so on. Allowing your literary agent to handle this for you let’s you concentrate on doing what you do best – write.

Reason #10: A good agent can earn you more money

Remember reason #4 – a good agent is an experienced negotiator? I’ve found that when an experienced negotiator who understands the market is working on my behalf, I usually end up getting more for my work than I would have been likely to get working on my own behalf. That’s why I don’t mind paying an agent his usual 10-15% commission because I know that the agent will often bring in at least that much more than I could have managed myself.

So there you have it – my top ten reasons for working with an agent. Tell me – what are your reasons for working with an agent? If you don’t have one, why do you want one?