How did you do? How are you feeling?
This week, I came to accept something about my writing style: I don't formally outline. I don't story map. This is my dirty little secret that I'd love to chat about with you, my circle of writing friends.
To serve as my story compass, I have about 200 words of an idea I came up with in November. As I read and reread that short paragraph each morning, I imagine how my characters will somehow embody this idea. I write a sentence or two, like Get her to the bathroom, or picks a rose then meets friends at fountain, and that instruction serves as a goal post for the day's writing. Laini Taylor talks about how sometimes writing feels like you're whacking through thick jungle overgrowth, and I've come to terms that my storytelling is VERY jungle-whacky.
I wonder how you approach storytelling. I have the inside skinny on the DMs style--you've got the whole story in your head, right? I can't tell you how this boggles my mind. To sit down and know of course this fellow is going here, of course this plot twist will arrive there. You should tell us more about this. It seems an enormously precious gift that you should share. :)
My original goal this week was 1500 words, then I upped it to 6000. I wrote 4500. Week 3's goal will be 6000. I'd really love to plough to the end of my story by April 30 so I can start from the beginning and weed, prune, and graft. You know, move from my exploratory 'zero' draft to draft 1. :)
p.s. This is totally snooty, but I read a post on Open Salon this morning, one that lamented the writer's plight--primarily, being surrounded by wannabe, bloggy writers--and advised us all that if we are happy doing anything else, please, please don't be a writer. I just want to say I think this is nonsense. I think anyone who wants to write should write. I've read so often that shtick, "Writing is so hard; if you're happy teaching, teach. If you're happy laying brick, lay brick. Leave the writing for the writers; only we know how tedious and back-breaking it truly is." Non. Sense. Writing is not exclusive. Only an exclusive group will earn fame and fortune, but the telling of stories, the airing of views, the relating of facts and finds--that's open to everyone.
Jes! Good job reaching 4500 words. I think it's great that you upped your goal for the week - that is very brave. I got past my 6000 words. I'm setting the goal for the same next week. I would like to be finished by the end of the month as well. It's so hard not to rewrite as I go along so I made a compromise with myself - I have a separate page for "Notes". Any ideas for my rewrite, places I want to punch up, etc. go there. This has helped me keep my sanity and keep moving forward.
ReplyDeleteI outline, then I wander off the page. I reoutline, then wander off the page again. At this point, I am not reoutlining (I have just decided that!). It's kind of like looking at a map of trails. I know where I am going to end up. I know which lakes I have a hankering to see on my way to the ending point. I don't have to stick to the trails to get there. It's been fun wandering off the map! Like I blogged - arrows come out of nowhere and you never know which characters are going to wander into your story. Some are welcome, some are NOT but they end up staying anyways because even the not so welcome ones have a part to play. Even when you have an outline or a vague idea of your story, you can still end up surprised. I love Laini's metaphor of bushwacking. I also like that she told us even when we think we know our story, we don't really know our story. No matter how much outlining we do, we don't really truly know it until we are thick into it getting our hands dirty!
Now I have to go check out the snooty blog. I don't think anyone who writes is truly happy doing anything else. We write because we have to, whether we ever get published or not. We are happiest in our stories, creating our characters, sharing them. Nothing else makes us happy or we would be doing that instead and forget the writing altogether. I love going into schools and educating kids about animals, love taking my dog into hospitals, schools and troubled youth centers, but I HAVE to write. HAVE to. I'm not truly happy unless I am. I get antsy. No one has a right to tell anyone else whether or not they can write. You are absolutely right, Jes. It's not exclusive!
I got in 2,097 words since last Wednesday. My writing is flowing much more smoothly now that I'm in the heart of the narrative. Chapter 13 took me since February 27th... 2007! It was a combination of dialogue, introducing new characters, and revealing critical information that would drive much of the story from that part forward. Thus, it was terribly difficult to orchestrate. Everything needed to be presented in the proper order and in a way that maximized the impact (since there was absolutely no action). That's partly why it took me three years (and two different versions) to complete.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost embarrassing to write that.
But, thankfully, Chapter 13 is the exception to my normal experience in writing. As Jess hinted at, I have large portions of my story ready to go in my mind. I have highlights of the narrative set in my imagination, and my writing process when I sit down at the computer is simply connecting one highlight with the next one -- like a dot-to-dot.
As I'm connecting the dots, my imagination fills in the spaces as I go (if things are going well). I come up with some of my best material -- in my opinion -- just off the top of my head as I'm "spitting things out." I think I'm able to do this only because I've had the characters in my head for so long (and I identify closely with them in some way), so I'm actually watching how they behave in my imagination as I'm writing.
Again, this is when things are working REALLY well... and it is no indication of how the final product will appeal to a reader. But, at least it is a lot of fun, the story (usually) flows out of me easily, and I'm enjoying the journey as I follow my characters along.
I agree that those who want to write, should just write. In fact, I would argue, if you don't want to... you can't. Or, at least, the product won't be a true reflection of what you're capable of. I would write and love doing it if I knew for a fact nobody else would ever read it or care about it. The process itsself is what I enjoy. This helps me when I know that thinking about editors and agents would just discourage & distract me.
Great writing everybody! I'm very impressed by the words counts... the writing gauntlet has been tossed.
My story runs like scenes of a muted movie in my head. I can't hear the dialogue, but I can see the action. I know what's going to happen - mostly, but until I immerse my self on the page there are no voices. Also, I'm a very visual person. I love stories with maps and landscapes. So this week I only wrote 500 words, but I mapped out the landscape. How fun is it to come up with a whole new world?!
ReplyDeleteNo outlines for me. I used to try to work with them, but I think they discouraged me more than anything else. My brain just doesn't organize the stories that way. To me, it makes them sterile, foreign, and impersonal - Not helpful when I have to try so hard to listen to the dialogue.
I think starting this story is the hardest thing I've done in a while. I've been setting up characters, plot, background, interest and intrigue, so that the story begins to flow. This is not easy stuff! I'm fighting some discouragement as I strain to hear my characters' voices.
So far my favorite part is giving names to these new places and people. Names have so much meaning and importance, I think.
Next week, 1000 words, and more of the map.