Becoming publishable
Featured Articles
You might also enjoy:
Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing
by Writers Digest (Editor
Write Great Fiction - Plot & Structure
by James Scott BellThis is my favorite writing book. I once had a mentor who said reading my practice novel wore her out. I read a lot of books on structure, but none really worked until I read this one. Now I know why I wore her out and how to fix it.
Writing Fiction: Outline or Wing it?
I was always told there were two types of authors: Those who outline, and those who don't (known as pantsers.) Both groups claim theirs is the only way to get published. Over the years, I've fooled around with novel writing. I was a pantser (seat of your pants, no plotting.) However, my novels fizzled out half way through and the ones I did finish were...well...not well-structured. And there were big mistakes, like having a boy be an only child until chapter four when he is arguing with his four-year-old sister. I know authors who do it well, but it didn't work for me.
So then I decided to do it the other way, since this time I'm taking the book seriously and intend to get this book published. I began a detailed outline. That didn't work either. I didn't have a good handle on my characters and I simply got stuck when I didn't know what came next. I had no sense of the style the writing would take.
Here's what I settled on: I combined the two methods. I have found, for me, that it works best to move back and forth between outline and novel. I wrote the first chapter and that let me get a feel for the characters and set a style of writing. Of course, I've already turned that first chapter into the third chapter, but that doesn't matter. The first draft of the first chapter is for the auhor's benefit. You fix it to be worth a reader's time later.
I found I simply can't know my characters until I start writing and let them decide for themselves who they are. (My subconscious knows these things better than I do.) If I'd stuck to the simple novel I had in mind, I probably could have continued. But my mentor pointed out that a minor character was poised to take over the novel and once I realized she was right (he had more to lose than the girls I was focused on) the story became very complex. I needed a plan to weave all the pieces together, especially since I needed to eliminate one girl as a viewpoint character. She is still in the story, but not a viewpoint person.
After I wrote the first chapter (which is now the third chapter) I began the outline. I go back and forth. Every day I write. But I also let the story wander through my mind as I do housework and other mundane tasks. I add new ideas to my outline as they come to me. Right now, I have the major plot points outlined. Many of the details are missing and I am fuzzy on the climax.
I do not outline in order. When I get an idea, I open the file, read through the outline, and figure out where I think it belongs. I put it there. The lovely thing about computers is that I can change my mind and move that item elsewhere at any time if I choose. I don't have a complex or formal outline. It's just a numbered list written in paragraph form. Today I might add to chapter 8 and tomorrow I might add something to chapter 12. It just depends on which part of the story my mind is thinking about that day.
When I write, I try not to look at the outline too much at first. I write until I get stuck and then go back to see what comes next. As a result, the story is much better than what I outlined. All sorts of unexpected things happen as I'm writing hot. I add those to my outline after the fact, so I can monitor the story flow, and then adapt what comes next to fit it. I am ending up with a more complex story because I combine the plan with the unexpected.
This means a lot of outline reworking. This week, I went four days without looking at the outline. I was trying to handle a complicated scene involving a murder and the things that happened caused me to have to make major changes to my outline and leaves me with some plotting gaps I have to fill in.The only two people who know how the man died have to escape--and no escape was planned in the original novel, since the death was originally supposed to be an accident. However, it turned out there were things I didn't understand and what seems to be an accident is really a murder and that means...a lot of rewriting.
My way, a combination of plotting and pantsing, is a messy way to write, but it works for me. What I've learned from all this is that there is no one right answer to the plotting vs. pantsing debate. Experiment, try it both ways or neither way, and find what works for you. If it works for you, then it's the best method.
I keep a binder for every writing project. I print everything out and keep it here for safety and for when I want to read it over in a more comfortable place. I like those covers that let you put a picture into them. I use something related to the book--in this case, the building my book centers around.