NaNoWriMo - To Panic or Not To Panic

I see you out there. Sneaking into the Halloween candy with furtive motions as you contemplate tomorrow. Tomorrow. November 1st. All Saint's Day. El Dia de los Muertos. National Bison Day.

Great big scary, ain't it?

Whether you're new at it or a veteran, Day one is one of the worst days. Whatever time you sit down to start the next Great Novel, you all have to face the same thing. 

That first blank page.

How do you start? You type Chapter One. Your word count is now a rocking two. Your mind starts to swirl and cramp. Where to start. How to craft that first sentence that hooks the reader. 


BUZZZZZZTTT!!!!!!


Now that you've wasted a couple hours of your life along with inhaling several pounds of leftover Halloween candy, take a step back. Take a deep breath. There, that's better.

The advice you'll hear about how to start will go along the lines of: Just write something. It doesn't matter what. That kind of advice tends to not to be much help to me. I need more help than that. If you're reading this then, like me you'll need a little more help too.

So, how to start. 

Tip #1: You've been thinking about this book for a while. Scenes have been swirling around your head all through the month of October. Stop worrying about where your novel starts. Write the scene that has been in your head. Start there. You can worry about where it goes in December.

Tip#2: The first words you write are: It was a dark and stormy night.
Now write why your character is thinking that. Is it a dark and stormy night or a bright and sunny day? Are they on a planet or out in space? Why would they think that line. As you write you'll find the ideas start to flow and you can transition to where you want your story to go.

Example:

      "It was a dark and stormy day. Hunter Reid glanced up at the cloudy sky and frowned. It would be darkfall soon and he was no where near where he had planned to camp for the night. Thanks to a landslide that had blocked part of the sixfor, Hunter would now have to find another route to Orange. And it didn’t look as if he would be making his usual overnight spot before the mists started. There was nothing more miserable than trying to sleep in the mists. It seeped into everything and made everything colder. "

Excerpt from Orpheus Rising

That was how I started NaNoWriMo 2005. It's my usual go to when stuck.

So what are your tricks for starting a new novel? Let me know in the comments below.