No Plot? No Problem!: A Low-Stress, High-Velocity Guide to Writing a Novel in 30 Days by Chris Baty is a guide to writing a novel in a month, whether as part of the official National Novel Writing Month in November or as part of a personal challenge at some other time of the year.

In his introduction, Chris Baty acknowledges that writing a novel in a month is insane, and yet his humorous style makes it seem like a fantastic idea. Like many of the best writing books, the infectious enthusiasm of No Plot? No Problem! made me want to drop the book and get busy writing.

Baty begins by recounting his first mad attempt to write a novel in a month, when he learned that “the biggest thing separating people from their artistic ambitions is not a lack of talent. It’s the lack of a deadline.” This idea, together with the concept of “exuberant imperfection,” became the philosophy behind National Novel Writing Month. The key to NaNoWriMo is the realization that you shouldn’t be worrying about writing a brilliant story with hauntingly beautiful prose as a first draft. Rather, removing your expectations and giving yourself the permission to write something terrible lets all your uninhibited ideas shine through and makes for a better story in the end.

If you want to get something done, Baty says, ask a busy person to do it. That’s the reason for the breakneck speed and intense adrenaline rush needed to finish a novel in a month. The pace and desperation will narrow your focus like a laser beam, and you’ll scorch right through your inhibitions. The secret is that if your life is so busy that writing becomes a treat, you’re much more likely to do it than if writing is just the Task That Won’t Die on your to-do list.

In the first few chapters, Baty discusses preparations for the month-long novel, including finding a suitable place to write and carving time out of your schedule by giving up distractions like surfing the web. When preparing the story itself, Baty recommends not starting too early. It can be difficult to watch a long-prepared novel go up in flames as you desperately rush toward the finish line. Instead, start planning a week or so before you begin writing. A week is enough time to sketch out your characters, plot, and setting without getting too invested in them. Let the rest of it evolve as you write.

I took this advice to heart when I was choosing my story. I had considered a novel that had been nagging me to be written for years, but I have so much emotionally invested in it that I think I would be rather shocked at the results of my first NaNo draft. Instead, I did some quick brainstorming, came up with three or four ideas, picked the one that interested me the most, and have been developing it now for about a week.

Next, Baty offers tips on shutting up your inner editor so you can get on with your writing without feeling compelled to edit your spelling. Then he delves into a brief primer on novel concepts like plot and characters and setting. And he’s serious about the No Plot?, No Problem! title. If you spend enough time getting to know your characters, he says, the plot will naturally follow. When you get stuck, just make them do something, anything, and see where it leads you.

The next four chapters are week-by-week pep talks, advice, and exercises addressing the problems of each stage of the month-long novel. Issues for each week include:

Week 1 - how to harness your initial creative jolt in preparation for the long slog ahead
Week 2 - how to keep going when the euphoria wears off and you realize you still don’t have a plot
Week 3 - how to figure out where you are and how far you have yet to go
Week 4 - how to convince yourself to finish instead of taking a well-deserved break

The last chapter offers some advice on deciding whether to continue working on your novel and how to go about rewriting it if you choose. Baty’s ideas on rewriting are simple and encouraging for a NaNo novel, or any novel for that matter. I was happy to see this, since so many writing books get you all excited but leave you hanging part way through the first draft.

It may be the guidebook for a month of frantic writing, but the lessons learned will help writers with more leisurely writing as well. And if procrastination threatens to set in, you can always declare your own novel writing month and get back into shape. In the end, Baty makes it very clear that “literature is not merely a spectator sport.”

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