J-A’s Writing Process – Step 4 – Plotting

You know, writing about your writing process isn’t as easy as you’d think!  However, I’ve found that there does seem to be a bit of a structure I tend to follow.

After getting my story arc, I sit down and start writing the key plot events that have to happen to get me from each point in my arc (ie from the beginning to the middle bit, from the middle bit to the end).  I use what I’ve learnt from my characters to determine not only the events that happen in the ‘big picture’ of the world, but also what happens for them personally.  Sometimes I’ll do a ‘plot event’ list for their personal journey as well as for the ‘world’ journey.

There are lots of theories on what plots should be like, but I follow a simple one of ‘there’s a problem, someone has to fix it, someone will try to stop them from fixing it and things will get worse until they get resolved at the end’.  Once again, I’ll think about this on both the world and the individual level.

I find that this is really helpful in terms of reducing my panic about whether or not I really have a story.  I just wish that I would remember that when the writing demons emerge!

Wonders Never Cease …

I’m not sure why, but I found myself thinking today about some of the places in my novel where I might have got it right.  You know what I mean – those moments where you’ve been slaving away getting words onto paper and then you find yourself in the middle of something that thrums.  Even though it’s first draft and is still needing refinement, you know you’ve hit on something that opens the heart of the book.  It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it makes it all worth it.

Today, I’ve been considering of some of those times, and I’m thinking maybe, after some considerable hard work and perserverence, I might just pull this off after all.

Sorting out Point of View in the Heat

Due to the heat, I took it easy on myself and set an easy task.  I looked at whether the point of view chapters of my book balanced out.  I have written a summary of the chapter/scene on post-it notes, a different colour for each, and have stuck them around the wall.  This is an idea I got from a blog post by an author called Kaye Dacus that flashed up on the WordPress suggested posts thing. 

It’s a very long line!  Quite satisfying.  I’m also a bit awestruck – did all that really come from my head?

Have also discovered a disadvantage to this technique.  Some of the post-it notes keep falling off the wall!  There had to be a drawback, didn’t there?

The 2nd Draft isn’t always a 2nd Draft…

… or at least that’s what I’ve found.  This is because I see where I need to stuff and have to start writing.  That is, I see where I need an extra chapter to balance out point of view or where I need to work in more of a transition or resolution.  This is all first draft.  So in actual fact, it’s not a 2nd draft until I’ve gone over all of these bits and pieces (which won’t be done til the end, as I like to finish it before going back over things). 

So really, this is a 1st and a half draft!

Moving into the Cool

No, not that kind of cool! 

It’s so hot at the moment (early summer in November), and the problem is that I don’t like the heat.  Therefore, no creativity is happening here.  I could try turning it to my advantage by incorporating the heat into my novel, but just the thought of it makes me feel even hotter. 

I could move into the air conditioned dining room, but then that would be as much of a mess as the study is, and mess clouds my head and prevents creativity, not to mention getting on my nerves.  It’s nice having at least one room that’s clean.  And we’re back at the start – no creativity happening.  Grrr.

So, this weekend, I’ll be off to a nice cool cafe and then a nice cool library!  Hope you’re all pretty cool too.

2nd draft blues

Hmm.  Having read over some of my manuscript, I can see that there’s a lot to do.  I have to keep reminding myself that I knew this would happen.  My aim was to get the first draft out without worrying about craft.  And some of it’s OK.  Or will be, after I’ve worked it over.

2nd Draft, Here I Come!

I’ve had a lovely 3 weeks’ break from my manuscript, and I’m now ready to tackle the second draft.  I’m a bit nervous, to be honest with you.  I don’t want to read it and realise how bad it is!  Worse – I don’t want to read it, realise how bad it is and NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX IT!

It’s all very nervewracking.  Where does one start?  I think I’ll start with mapping out the point of view for each chapter, so I can see where I need to add more of one viewpoint or cut back on another.  Amazing how just developing that plan settles my tumtum!

J-A’s Writing Process – Step 3 – The Story Arc

This is where it will become obvious that I’m a planner (ie I plan before I start to write), not a freefaller (ie someone who just sits down and writes without any idea of where it’s going to go).  However, this is something that I think would be helpful for freefallers as well, so give it a go.

After I’ve done my characters, I’ve usually got some thoughts about how the idea I’ve had is going to develop.  At this stage, I’ll sit down and do some brainstorming about possible outcomes for the story.  Nothing too detailed, just general thoughts.  Who’s going to win?  What growth is my main character going to go through?  What’s going to propel them forward in search of whatever it is they’re looking for (and therefore, propel the book forward)?  What will they have to overcome and why?  I may not have a very specific idea of what will actually happen, but I’ll have a general feeling for what kind of resolution there’ll be.

You can see from the above that my stories are character driven, but the same works for plot driven books too.  In fact, maybe you have an even clearer idea of where things are going to end and how. 

Once I’ve got my end of the story, I then think about where my character is at the beginning of the story.  Are they happy or are they restless?  Why?  What do they value in life?  What have they got to lose?   This gives me the two ends of the story. 

The next question I think about is:  how does my character get from the beginning to the end?  My character details will help with this, because some of the key events will fall out of who they are.  I tend to think of story developing in a ‘things get worse’ way, that the protagonist has to go through the ringer before coming out at the end.  Each key event is followed by a lull before the next event to give everyone a rest, but each event is followed by another that makes things more difficult for the protagonist. 

And that gives me the main plot events.  These aren’t very detailed at this stage, just a sentence long.  I like to keep them brief, because then I can maintain maximum flexibility for my writing.  It also doesn’t mean that I’m locked into this structure.  It just means that I don’t panic about drifting and not having a story.  When I actually start writing, I tend to put this away and only look at it every now and then.  Sometimes I find I’ve missed something important but I’ve discovered it just in time to redirect.  Sometimes I decide whatever it is I’ve missed isn’t important or the story has led me to something better, and I may redo my story arc.  I can have flexibility provided I don’t tie myself into my plan too much.  I still get that edge from the unexpected and the unknown.

J-A’s Writing Process – Step 2 – Characters

OK.  I’ve got an idea, so it’s time to go on to getting the characters.  I tend to write stories that are character driven, so this step is important. 

I need to understand my characters in order to write them, and I often find that in doing a character interview or profile, I end up with important plot points or events as well.  There are no doubt lots of books out there that will help with character, but the one I found really useful was Write Away by Elizabeth George.  She has a list of character aspects that she uses as a guide, and gives an example of how she uses it.

Anyhow, this step is an essential part of my writing process.  Above all else, I need to know what the character wants in the book and who/what is working against them.    I also need to know why they want it – what psychological factors are driving them.  You can see how this leads to plot.

I am also interested in psychology, and read about it / watch documentaries about it often.  Biographies are also helpful here, particularly if they have that psychological analysis slant.  This is what allows my characters to ‘drive themselves’, so to speak.  I’ll start writing thinking they’re going in one direction, but next thing you know, they take me in another.  If you’ve done the work to understand them and keep that in mind when you’re writing them, it really can be that effortless.  The story almost writes itself, at least for a few pages.

Explanation for J-A’s silence

Yes, I’ve been rather quiet, not having written a thing for the whole of September.  The explanation is that I’m almost finished BattleFall!  I’ve only got half a chapter left to go before I can take a break and then start the second draft.  Not sure how many words it is, but it’s not 100k (no fantasy book worth its salt is under 100k).  That’s not a bad thing, though, because I tend to underwrite.  I get the bare bones down first and then work on it in redrafting. 

I find the first draft is a bit of a drag, but I’m excited about the second draft!  Anyhow, back to that half a chapter…