Notes from the writing desk: In my previous post asking for suggestions about what to talk about when it comes to the writing process, Adeline Ang wanted to know how I started a story. Did I meticulously plan out the plot and characters or just wing it? And here its confession time. Im whats called a pantser. A dyed-in-the-wool pantser. That means I wing it all the way. Other authors are plotters. Both methods work. Its just one works best for a particular author; the other is the preferred method for another author. They each have pros and cons. When I sit down to write a story, 99% of the time I build it from a sentence fragment clanging about inside my head or the memory of a really cool piece of artwork. It can be anything really. Something just hits the storytelling trigger and away I go. Ill jot down haphazard notes on post-its, receipts, envelopes, my hand, my kids hand (the expressions I get on that one...), even a new diaper once (lost that note as I packed it in the diaper bag. I suspect it made for some speculative conversation at the daycare). Plotters have this beautifully organized way of going about developing their stories. There are lots of articles and books written that focus on how to write your book in the most efficient, organized manner. Plenty of useful ideas for such things as character sheets and white boards and outlines for every chapter, etc. Ive tried them all and given up in about 3 seconds. I really do see and understand how plotting and organizing beforehand can save a writer a world of hurt when theyre putting together a manuscript. You can avoid starting the story in the wrong place (I wrote the beginning of ENTREAT ME four times before I was happy with where I started it), creating situations in Chapter 3 that suddenly come back to bite you in Chapter 14 or meandering off into the sunset when youre slogging through the valley of despair thats the midway portion of the book, and you hate the characters, the story, your PC and the obviously demented idea of even starting this insane project because youll never, ever reach THE END. Ahem--where was I? Oh yes, plotting and organization. Meh, it just isnt how I burp up a book. So when you see all those caveat lectors plastered all over my serial updates and excerpts, its to cover my butt in case I change my mind about something at a later date, which Ill probably do. Some people would politely call that organic development. I call it chasing my own tail. And thats probably waaaayyy more than you ever wanted to know about how I sit down in front of this overly bright screen and mentally say to you Let me tell you a story. Have a good night, folks!
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 05:03:26 +0000
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