Planning a book

[PapaMIdnite]

That's why I made sure to say different things for different people.

I am totally disorganized. I work best in total chaos and tend to stress when things are organized. I'm the guy whose desk is a nightmare, but I know where everything is then flip out when someone decides to try to organize it for me.

I also have a tunnel vision mentality and live by the slogan "always forward, never sideways, never backwards," To me-and I stress me- spending all that time spinning wheels thinking and lining up what I want is a waste when I could be achieving where the story goes by writing it.

I guess, I'm very superstitious and literally believe in a muse and that they can be channeled I let the story take me.

I used to write like that. nothing big, just short stories... stuff that after a couple of years I read and I want to kick myself on the balls. I tend to let my own reality affect what I write, the way my characters behave. So I end up writing not what I wanted, but a lot of mini-me doing stuff I'd do. Which was not what I intended.

Anyway, I reckon that writing is an activity that needs daily work, which I don't do and which is why I can't get my stuff right I less I plan it forehand.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

nothing against you, guys, but.. why don't you go to trade blows somewhere else?

STFU ASSHAT

 

[PapaMIdnite]

STFU ASSHAT

oh god.. *rolls eyes*.. kids!

 

[lance gt]

oh god.. *rolls eyes*.. kids!

Hey, virgin boy, this is what we do here, get used to it. Don't like it, go somewhere else. No one asked you to come and make opinions. Are you related to pilot?

 

[PapaMIdnite]

Hey, virgin boy, this is what we do here, get used to it. Don't like it, go somewhere else. No one asked you to come and make opinions. Are you related to pilot?

I have an Aunt that works as flying attendant.. would it be good enough?

 

[SamScribble]

To return, briefly, to the original question of this thread …

The first step for me is the first sentence. Or the first paragraph. This usually sets the tone. I’ll often write the first paragraph and then ‘put it away’ for a few days. Or even for a few weeks. Until I’m happy with the first paragraph, I’m not going anywhere.

I don’t ‘plan’ the story in any detail. I do tend to give quite a bit of thought to the character who will carry the story. But I don’t make pages of notes or anything like that. How tall the character is, what colour her hair is, where she went to school … these are all things that reveal themselves as I write – assuming that their revelation is necessary to the story.

Being quite a visual person, I do often collect images that may help me to describe people and places. For one recent story, I had a ‘cheat file’ containing pictures of the interiors of several smart hotel rooms and restaurants in Italy.

Five hundred (finished) words a day, six days a week, is my target. (Five hundred words a day was good enough for Graham Greene; sometimes he just stopped at 500 words even if he was in the middle of a sentence.) But lately I have been averaging closer to a thousand words a day.

About once a week I read the work in progress from beginning to end. The main purpose of this is to check the rhythm and make adjustments where necessary.

If a sequence of events is complicated and critical, I will sometimes make myself a bit of a timeline. And I will sometimes use the (electronic) highlighter pen to mark bits of action or pieces of dialogue that I need to refer to later in the story.

And, yes, when I get to the end, I do occasionally go back and tweak the beginning.

 

[THROBBS]

(nah..not even worth quoting)

That was good enough for me to add Lance to my ignore list.
so essentially (for me) he has "gone somewhere else.

Not enough value, humor or anything to bother with.

 

[PennLady]

No, she's saying that different writers have different approaches. She's not saying they start from scratch on their process choices each time.

No, I'm not. I'm saying writers probably have to experiment with approaches until they find the one that works for them. I wish I could write some kind of outline that would keep me on track; I think it would be specially helpful for those slow periods or when I'm blocked. but I just can't seem to do that, at least not yet.

 

[sr71plt]

The first step for me is the first sentence. Or the first paragraph. This usually sets the tone. I’ll often write the first paragraph and then ‘put it away’ for a few days. Or even for a few weeks. Until I’m happy with the first paragraph, I’m not going anywhere.

I don't even agonize over the first sentence. It has to be good, yes--well, sort of. I tend to start in the middle of dialogue or action and bring the reader into the read by a series of their own revelations of where we are and what's going on. In the short time it takes them to aclimate themselves, I hope to have engaged their attention and given them some ownership in the story. I think that's the current trend in anything but literary fiction.

I just don't agonize over the prose. I want the flow to be as natural as possible. For the same reason, I don't change all of that much in review, either--or review it all that often before sending it off to the editor.

 

[sr71plt]

No, I'm not. I'm saying writers probably have to experiment with approaches until they find the one that works for them. I wish I could write some kind of outline that would keep me on track; I think it would be specially helpful for those slow periods or when I'm blocked. but I just can't seem to do that, at least not yet.

I suppose I could start with an outline--and occasionally I have tried to (in nonfiction, I do, so it's not a stranger to me). But I've never gotten too far into outline writing or more than cursory character sketching (usually notes on the relationship of the characters to each other and to the plot) before my muse screams, "stop procrastinating already and let's get on with the writing."

 

[PennLady]

I suppose I could start with an outline--and occasionally I have tried to (in nonfiction, I do, so it's not a stranger to me). But I've never gotten too far into outline writing or more than cursory character sketching (usually notes on the relationship of the characters to each other and to the plot) before my muse screams, "stop procrastinating already and let's get on with the writing."

Which I think just goes to show that everyone works differently. Some of it is thought processes and some of it is desire (or not) for organization and some of it is making the best use of the time available. You've said you're retired and basically, your time is your own. That's not the case with me. So in my case, when I can't write on something, it's hard to get back to the flow and the routine of writing. An outline might help me. On the other hand, I know that if I have the time and am in the right frame of mind, I can just sit down and write. That rarely happens, so it could be that for me, for now, the better thing is more notes so that when I do have time to write, all my stuff is there.

Not that I write those notes, though I do try. I keep a notebook with me, even.

 

[MagicaPractica]

I've started reading Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. He suggests that some people outline thoroughly and some people do it subconsciously in their head. I've written one novel and did not outline ahead of time. It was a short novel and early in my writing. I've tried to start about five novels in the past fifteen years. What I find, for myself, is that if I know what is going to happen ahead of time, I get bored with the writing. I plan to work on a novel this year. I'm not sure where I'm going to go with it but my best thought so far is to write each chapter as a short story and see where it leads.

Good topic!

 

[lance gt]

I've started reading Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass. He suggests that some people outline thoroughly and some people do it subconsciously in their head. I've written one novel and did not outline ahead of time. It was a short novel and early in my writing. I've tried to start about five novels in the past fifteen years. What I find, for myself, is that if I know what is going to happen ahead of time, I get bored with the writing. I plan to work on a novel this year. I'm not sure where I'm going to go with it but my best thought so far is to write each chapter as a short story and see where it leads.

Good topic!

I was finding the same when I was writing. I cured that by throwing in twists and turns to change the direction and spice up the storyline again. It made for a better read and kept my attention going to the finish.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

The problem with knowing the end is: It aint a good ending if getting to it is boring. The ending has to be worth the game.

 

[sr71plt]

The problem with knowing the end is: It aint a good ending if getting to it is boring. The ending has to be worth the game.

I agree. Which is why I, at least, can't plan all of the life and surprise out of it beforehand.