NaNoWriMo Tip #7: Develop Your Protagonist

By Dianna Dilworth 

nanowrimoNational Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) launched earlier this month as writers around the globe try to write a 50,000-word novel draft in a single month.

To help the GalleyCat readers taking this challenge, we will be offering NaNoWriMo advice throughout the month. Last year, 341,375 participants wrote a novel in 30 days through the NaNoWriMo program. The writing marathon has generated more than 250 traditionally published novels, according to the organizers.

Our seventh tip is: Develop Your Protagonist. Your protagonist is the central figure in your story, so it is important to get his/her voice right. Figure out the protagonist’s motivations, their hinderances, how they are stifled by events in your story and the things that they do to overcome these issues. How do they think? How do they respond to the events in your story? Do they fail? Succeed? You can use your character outline to help get inside their head.