I wrote my first National Novel Writing Month novel in 2002, and the t-shirts for that year were emblazoned with "No Plot? No Problem!" (later the title to Chris Baty's excellent how-to guide to NaNoWriMo). I always wear that shirt a few times during November, so I may be biased here, but I feel that many NaNo participants put far too much focus on plot.

NaNoWriMo participants often define themselves as Pantsers or Plotters. Pantsers are the "seat of the pants" writers who dive in to writing with only a wisp of an idea. Plotters take the more organized approach of planning their characters or story arc before writing. I'm a pantser with plotter leanings, but I think there is merit to both approaches. Unfortunately, most of the pre-NaNo chatter seems to revolve around plot, plot, plot. "Do you have a plot?" "What's your story about?". Bloggers everywhere are offering advice on how to plot your story, how to outline, and how to organize your pre-writing research. That's all well and good, but I think many people spend so much time obsessing on plot that they forget the most essential element of their stories: the characters. A plot is only as exciting as the characters who carry it, and if you don't have compelling characters, no amount of plot scheming will save your story.

A few years ago, I was fortunate to stumble upon a 5-week writing class at my local community college. I had a B.A. in English with an emphasis in creative writing, but I learned more from this little class than in all four years of college. The best lesson of the class can be summed up in eight words, and it completely changed my approach to writing.

"Who does what to whom?" not "What happens next?"

Seriously, that's all you need to remember. Whenever you're outlining or thinking through your story, quit asking "What happens next?" and focus on what your characters are up to. Now, before you run off and dive into character sketches as deeply as you did your plot, stop and put things in perspective. You don't need to know what your character's favorite breakfast food is, or what he or she was like in grade school (unless you're writing Middle Grade fiction), but you do need a good understanding of what your characters want in any given situation. It could be as simple as a character wanting to catch the 5:00 bus home, or as complex as one wanting to find the key to peace in an interstellar battle. Whatever the situation, know what's important to the characters and let that guide your writing and your story.

You character wanting to catch that bus might be short with a coworker on the way out the door, and that could spark a whole mess of office politics. Poof. Instant plot. How would the story change if your character was short with the HR manager versus the receptionist? How would the receptionist or HR Manager react to being pushed aside as your character dashes out the door? You may already know that your character was passed over for a promotion (your story's conflict) but without asking "who does what to whom?" would you have known it was because he angered the HR manager? Or that the receptionist wants his position and will take any opportunity to hold him back? The plot came about because you put the characters first.

On a related theme, the word "why" is a writer's best friend. If you understand the why of any character interaction, you can project it to the reader. And an involved reader is a reader who will come back for more. That is the secret to a winning story. Strong plots come from involved characters, not from the progression of the plot itself. Editor Andy Meisenheimer offered this advice on keeping the plot in perspective. "The biggest symptom of a weak plot is when everything happens to your character. The plot is too important to you and you aren't involving the character, which usually means you also aren't involving the reader." Don't let yourself get mired in the minute details of plotting out a story. Spend that time getting to know your characters instead. Treat it like a Choose Your Own Adventure novel and when your plot comes to a decision point, let your characters chose the direction. Your plot, and your readers, will thank you for it.

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For more information and tips for NaNoWriMo, check out our NaNoWriMo 2010 page.