L is for Learning #A2Zchallenge blog

 

Anyone who's done any creative writing can tell you if you do it long enough, your process changes. Or maybe it adapts to your new knowledge of yourself, the introspection and acceptance of your own particular way of thinking and creating.

There are plotters, pantsers, plantsers or plotsers, or mini-versions in between. 

When I started writing, I grabbed a composition notebook, opened it and began. No pressure, just telling a story. Then I started studying the craft of writing, listening to traditional publishing workshops, learning the rules. And following them. And until I decided to Self-publish, my process suffered. I thought to "do it correctly" I had to plot my stories first. And so began the struggle.

But last year during another challenge - Nano - which I've done every year since 2008, I discovered my true process is to sit down and let the characters tell their story. It's terrifying. And it's bliss when I make myself sit there and write, whether it's in the tub on a small notebook, on a legal pad going down the road, on my MacAir or on an ipad. Just write. 

Have you had an epiphany like this? Maybe you're a plotter who's tried to go by the seat of your pants. Writing is an individual as, well... each individual. But writers write

Ruts and the Organic Muse

As promised, I moved on to the business of TR's ending. I stopped analyzing, planning and organizing the scenes in advance and just began again on the last scenes. And discovered why it had been so hard to know how to proceed.

The scene I was writing is the hero's black moment. The thing he's been dreading the most is happening and the heroine is introducing him to reality. Unfortunately, the author hasn't figured out the secrets to this reality so the heroine is having trouble 'splainin' it to said hero. Now, hold on, I didn't say I quit writing. I'm still going.

Bill Kirton of Living and Writing and Other Stuff commented a couple days ago, "There's no doubt, though, that whatever technique you adopt (careful pre-plotting, wading straight in with only a vague idea of your direction, a single event or a multitude of them), you're dealing with an organic whole which will grow in whatever direction it wants, however disciplined you are. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that disciplining it too severely risks stifling it altogether"

I'd been working and reworking my redetermined ending for this book for a month. Suddenly, as if struck by the lightning bolt from muse heaven, I realized that instead of trying to make the scenes fit my outline, I needed to just start writing and allow it to follow its own path. I know. DUHHHHH, Marley. But you know, we get stuck in ruts and need a shove to get out sometimes.

So I picked up my pen and my notebook and started writing. I wrote that HARD scene with the hero and heroine and just kept writing, penning around 6000 words in two days. I believe I may finish the book by hand as the plot seems to be developing more organically that way. Thanks, Bill.

Nano Saturday #3

Okay, I read the last couple chapters in Chris Baty's book, No Plot, No Problem, about the third and fourth weeks of Nano. I hadn't read the part about making your book finish by the end of Nano even if you have to sketch scenes. I think that's what I was doing in the initial prep and writing of the book.

Though I like the idea of having THE End on it at the end of Nano, I don't think it's practical. If I sketch a scene and move on, I won't see the magic happen as C.L. Wilson calls it and the way it worked out for me on Thursday when I just hung in there and worked my way through a scene and wound up with some wonderful new creatures I hadn't even conceived of in the development and advance worldbuilding process.

So I'll just wait and see where I end up at the end of the week. I WILL get 50K though, regardless of Thanksgiving, relatives coming in for the weekend, work Friday and Saturday, and the time-consuming but rewarding blog on music for writers on Tuesday. I Hope...

Whew, I guess I better stop listening to music and get busy.

It's raining here, the dog is doing the only other thing that rainy days are good for besides writing and that other thing.

Have a sweet Saturday.
Nano, Nano

BIAW

BIAW started last Monday. I'm satisfied with 10k word count for five days, but especially gratifying was the way the plot started expanding and pieces began to fit together.

It reminds me of a football game. You start off with a game plan but you need to have plenty of extra plays and players on the sidelines so when the other team makes unexpected moves you can change up on the fly.

I'd spent several months revamping the setting and characters and developing the paranormal world fearing I hadn't done enough. I was pleased to find out that my fear was unfounded.

Do all writers go into each wip with a fear of the unknown? Or just pantsers.

It's scary but so rewarding when the magic happens.

The END is near...

For the last couple months I've been in the world building process for my RC fantasy/paranormal. Reading everything I can put my hands on in the fantasy/ paranormal, mystery and thriller genres has helped me eliminate those aspects of the world that I don't want to use, what kind of tone I'm setting, how my voice will affect overall plot. How dark is it going to be? What subgenre is it likely to fall into? Will it be a series with the same main characters or different hero/heroine in each? Butcher, Arthur, Mead, Coley, Elrod, Harris, Sparks, Evanovich, Vincent, Murphy, McCaffrey, Kellogg, Aiken, Causey, Kirton, Davidson, and lately a fellow writer suggested Ellory adn Kerr. Like I said, everything I could find. Truly, the worlds that authors create are as varied as their voices, no matter the subject or similarity of species.

I'm a pantser so doing an intricate outline or knowing exactly what's going to happen when isn't in the cards. But I want to understand the characters' personalities, the paranormal beings and the rules of their species, and put down some of the scenes that have been playing in my head. Though necessary, the prep phase has turned into a time consuming and sleep-disrupting task. I know I won't know everything - I could probably keep doing this for a year. But the more I understand when I move forward, the easier it will be to wing it as I go.

I said sleep-disrupting. Last night I dreamed that the stars were turning into supernovas while we watched and before I could get out of the dream, the weather was changing, the earth was going dark and complete DOOM was near. There were some particularly nasty creatures on the way as well. It was one of those dreams that even as the clarity of the detail fades, the feeling of doom remains. Not like most nights when I awake around 4am and have creative and usable ideas to jot down. This morning, I just wanted to escape to the real world to cleanse my brain with sunny skies and the everyday doldrums of the bayou. I may have to meditate tonight or watch a child's Disney movie like DUMBO before bedtime. Maybe it's a sign that the end of the preparation phase is drawing to a close. I wonder if I'll know when it's time. I sure do want to get back into the story.

My best ideas yesterday came while washing my hair in the shower, a veritable flood of insight. I wasn't even aware that I'd been thinking about the book. It was a giant leap for RC, some of the core elements for my main character's background came together which made some plotpoints (from my very sketchy plot) fall into place. Normally, a two hour drive will set the creative juices flowing but a shower is less expensive, don't you know?

Where do you get your inspiration? When you're blocked or doing the prepwork for your book, what strategies do you use?