...and then things happen
I'm really pleased with the way the characters in the thing I'm writing are coming along. Really. I love them, I love their stories, I can already see them interacting in my head. The only thing I can't really figure out yet is HOW to tell the story.
I mean, obviously I have a plot, or I wouldn't be bothering. I have an idea, one I'm still quite fond of, but this is where it gets tricky every time. There is point A, where they are now. And there is point B, where I want them to be in the end. And in between those two points there is ... stuff. It's not like it's all blurry, the outline isn't blank. But getting this sort of blob of a "middle" into the right order is always the most fun AND the most time-consuming part of every new project.
I mean, the middle is what separates that vague thing you play around with right before falling asleep from an actual story that you can tell to other people. Ideas are easy enough, but getting them into shape - ughhhh. *headdesk* (I love it. I just want to start writing already.)
So of course I spent my writing time today doing what any serious writer would do and first cleaned the house and then read other people's writing blogs. Where, by the way, I stumbled across this amazing piece of wisdom about what a story *should* look like that really made me laugh.
(Source ) Chuck Wendig has good advice sometimes. :) I love finding things like this because a) it's amusing and b) sometimes it actually helps untangling some of the mess that is the beginning of a new story.
But, because writing so often makes me think about reading, here's a question (that has almost nothing to do with the above): what's your preferred story to just dive into when you want distraction? Do you prefer your stories to guide you gently through the middles or do you like the occasional punch in the gut from unexpected plot twists? Or a mix of both? When I'm reading a book for fun I generally prefer the slow and quiet, tbh. Conflict is good, yes, there is no story if there is no conflict. But what does a comfort story look like for you? Angst or fluff? Fast-paced or slow and gentle? Action-driven or character-driven? Crying or laughing? Or does it all depend on mood?
I mean, obviously I have a plot, or I wouldn't be bothering. I have an idea, one I'm still quite fond of, but this is where it gets tricky every time. There is point A, where they are now. And there is point B, where I want them to be in the end. And in between those two points there is ... stuff. It's not like it's all blurry, the outline isn't blank. But getting this sort of blob of a "middle" into the right order is always the most fun AND the most time-consuming part of every new project.
I mean, the middle is what separates that vague thing you play around with right before falling asleep from an actual story that you can tell to other people. Ideas are easy enough, but getting them into shape - ughhhh. *headdesk* (I love it. I just want to start writing already.)
So of course I spent my writing time today doing what any serious writer would do and first cleaned the house and then read other people's writing blogs. Where, by the way, I stumbled across this amazing piece of wisdom about what a story *should* look like that really made me laugh.
(Source ) Chuck Wendig has good advice sometimes. :) I love finding things like this because a) it's amusing and b) sometimes it actually helps untangling some of the mess that is the beginning of a new story.
But, because writing so often makes me think about reading, here's a question (that has almost nothing to do with the above): what's your preferred story to just dive into when you want distraction? Do you prefer your stories to guide you gently through the middles or do you like the occasional punch in the gut from unexpected plot twists? Or a mix of both? When I'm reading a book for fun I generally prefer the slow and quiet, tbh. Conflict is good, yes, there is no story if there is no conflict. But what does a comfort story look like for you? Angst or fluff? Fast-paced or slow and gentle? Action-driven or character-driven? Crying or laughing? Or does it all depend on mood?