Process breakthrough
I've nearly doubled my word count from when I started, and am making good progress on my goal:
15,870 / 50,000
(31.7%)
I'm much more of a character-oriented writer, as opposed to a plot-oriented one. As a result, I don't always have a handle on where the story is going next, which I've (obviously) been really struggling with recently. Over the past two nights, though, I've had a breakthrough of sorts. I wrote a scene on Monday where a teacher gave the main character's class an assignment. An aspect of the assignment (building a model) then lead me to a major plot point in the novel. Last night, after finishing my writing for the day, I spent time creating a rough outline of the plot. Voila! Now I know where the book has to go, and how to tighten the beginning to move it in that direction. It's a great feeling. So instead of writing for the next couple of days, I'm going to print the whole thing out and do some major edits to get the manuscript on track. If all goes well, I'll be able to resume my 1000 words/day on Monday--with a renewed energy, a specific direction, and a stronger book. Hooray!
The interesting thing about this little experience? I *finally* realized today that this is part of my creative process. A couple of years ago, I wrote a short story entitled "Artificial Colors" which was published in an online magazine. I had a clear character in my head, and set the scene, but I had no idea where the plot was going. As I was writing, however, I kept thinking about this bag of Doritos that the main character was munching on through the beginning of the story. That snack ended up being the pivotal element of the whole plot! Same thing with my other novel, BEAUTY BINGE. The main character has repeated fittings for this awful junior bridesmaid dress throughout the story, and I finally made the connection to use the dress to tie two divergent plot lines together. Does this mean my subconscious knows where the story is going before I do? Or is it that I'm triggered by a specific object in the story? Either way, I'm just happy that it happens.
15,870 / 50,000
(31.7%)
I'm much more of a character-oriented writer, as opposed to a plot-oriented one. As a result, I don't always have a handle on where the story is going next, which I've (obviously) been really struggling with recently. Over the past two nights, though, I've had a breakthrough of sorts. I wrote a scene on Monday where a teacher gave the main character's class an assignment. An aspect of the assignment (building a model) then lead me to a major plot point in the novel. Last night, after finishing my writing for the day, I spent time creating a rough outline of the plot. Voila! Now I know where the book has to go, and how to tighten the beginning to move it in that direction. It's a great feeling. So instead of writing for the next couple of days, I'm going to print the whole thing out and do some major edits to get the manuscript on track. If all goes well, I'll be able to resume my 1000 words/day on Monday--with a renewed energy, a specific direction, and a stronger book. Hooray!
The interesting thing about this little experience? I *finally* realized today that this is part of my creative process. A couple of years ago, I wrote a short story entitled "Artificial Colors" which was published in an online magazine. I had a clear character in my head, and set the scene, but I had no idea where the plot was going. As I was writing, however, I kept thinking about this bag of Doritos that the main character was munching on through the beginning of the story. That snack ended up being the pivotal element of the whole plot! Same thing with my other novel, BEAUTY BINGE. The main character has repeated fittings for this awful junior bridesmaid dress throughout the story, and I finally made the connection to use the dress to tie two divergent plot lines together. Does this mean my subconscious knows where the story is going before I do? Or is it that I'm triggered by a specific object in the story? Either way, I'm just happy that it happens.