New Methods
Having reached the Mid-Book Slump, I have decided to take a more scientific approach.
Justification:
I realized recently that one of the reasons why I gave it up to my beta readers (kind, beautiful people that they are) was because I was, well... kind of stuck. Not the dreaded *whisper* Block. Just... I knew where it needed to go, you know, eventually. But as far as the slowly but steadily moving story... I had ridden the horse as far as he would go and he was tired, dammit. I need that interaction with readers to get him moving again.
Usual Method (with this book):
Write like crazy. Splice in old writing when needed. Write like crazy. Let people read. Break for Spring semester. Come back to it and write like crazy. Weave in new stuff while obsessively editing down the old. Come up with a brilliant idea to set off the chapters. Let people read. Get half the damn thing finished and flail around like an idiot.
New Method #1: Lists.
I made lists* of things that could happen in the book. I wasn't committing to any of them, I was just listing things that could possibly happen to the characters. That took the pressure off.
Then I made lists of places. Cities characters might go through, types of terrain, modes of travel, seasons. That sparked new ideas. I began connecting scenes in List 1 with places in List 2.
Then I made a list of emotional things that needed to happen, realizations the characters had to come to, etc. I'm working on connecting this list up with the previous lists.
New Method #2: Word Counts.
Now I know some writers hate word counts. You can get obsessive about it, and then you start to feel like you're a slave to the numbers, so it's not for everybody. However, I found keeping track was pretty useful when I was hammering out the first draft of this book. And, as a novice, it's been enlightening for me to break it down in this truly left-brained way. I'm still being kind of loose with this because I don't want to get too scientific about it and kill my muse.
First, I counted an average (ten page) chapter. Then I looked through that chapter and made up word counts for individual scenes**, grouping them into categories like 'fight scene,' 'conversation,' 'description,' 'dream,' etc. I also assigned a sort of miscellaneous category called 'bridge,' which stands for the time it takes to get characters into and out of individual 'scenes.' I wanted to just get a feel for how it was coming out so far.
My #s: the average chapter was 5,000 to 6,000 words. A 'scene' could range anywhere from 500 to 1,000 words. Most descriptions were under 500, fights around 1,000, and to 'bridges' I arbitrarily assigned 500 words. ***
New Method #3: Write brief descriptions of ideas for scenes (from the Lists) on note cards. Assign word counts to ideas for scenes and see what I can fit into the last half of this book. Shuffle note cards into somewhat logical order, and loosely collect into chapters. Then pick up the note card on top of the stack and start writing!
That last part has yet to happen, unless you count this blog post. ;)
POSTSCRIPT:
Steal this. No, really. If anybody who is reading this is a writer and wants to try a new method, steal away. I'm a big fan of sharing methods and information freely, so go for it.
* Since this book has two interlocking stories, I made a list for each. I have about 40,000 words to go, so it's pretty logical to break it down evenly.
** It might seem hard to find the distinct beginning and end of an individual scene, but it really wasn't. I just looked for where something new happened, and didn't sweat the boundaries too much.
*** Others' scene mileage might vary.
Justification:
I realized recently that one of the reasons why I gave it up to my beta readers (kind, beautiful people that they are) was because I was, well... kind of stuck. Not the dreaded *whisper* Block. Just... I knew where it needed to go, you know, eventually. But as far as the slowly but steadily moving story... I had ridden the horse as far as he would go and he was tired, dammit. I need that interaction with readers to get him moving again.
Usual Method (with this book):
Write like crazy. Splice in old writing when needed. Write like crazy. Let people read. Break for Spring semester. Come back to it and write like crazy. Weave in new stuff while obsessively editing down the old. Come up with a brilliant idea to set off the chapters. Let people read. Get half the damn thing finished and flail around like an idiot.
New Method #1: Lists.
I made lists* of things that could happen in the book. I wasn't committing to any of them, I was just listing things that could possibly happen to the characters. That took the pressure off.
Then I made lists of places. Cities characters might go through, types of terrain, modes of travel, seasons. That sparked new ideas. I began connecting scenes in List 1 with places in List 2.
Then I made a list of emotional things that needed to happen, realizations the characters had to come to, etc. I'm working on connecting this list up with the previous lists.
New Method #2: Word Counts.
Now I know some writers hate word counts. You can get obsessive about it, and then you start to feel like you're a slave to the numbers, so it's not for everybody. However, I found keeping track was pretty useful when I was hammering out the first draft of this book. And, as a novice, it's been enlightening for me to break it down in this truly left-brained way. I'm still being kind of loose with this because I don't want to get too scientific about it and kill my muse.
First, I counted an average (ten page) chapter. Then I looked through that chapter and made up word counts for individual scenes**, grouping them into categories like 'fight scene,' 'conversation,' 'description,' 'dream,' etc. I also assigned a sort of miscellaneous category called 'bridge,' which stands for the time it takes to get characters into and out of individual 'scenes.' I wanted to just get a feel for how it was coming out so far.
My #s: the average chapter was 5,000 to 6,000 words. A 'scene' could range anywhere from 500 to 1,000 words. Most descriptions were under 500, fights around 1,000, and to 'bridges' I arbitrarily assigned 500 words. ***
New Method #3: Write brief descriptions of ideas for scenes (from the Lists) on note cards. Assign word counts to ideas for scenes and see what I can fit into the last half of this book. Shuffle note cards into somewhat logical order, and loosely collect into chapters. Then pick up the note card on top of the stack and start writing!
That last part has yet to happen, unless you count this blog post. ;)
POSTSCRIPT:
Steal this. No, really. If anybody who is reading this is a writer and wants to try a new method, steal away. I'm a big fan of sharing methods and information freely, so go for it.
* Since this book has two interlocking stories, I made a list for each. I have about 40,000 words to go, so it's pretty logical to break it down evenly.
** It might seem hard to find the distinct beginning and end of an individual scene, but it really wasn't. I just looked for where something new happened, and didn't sweat the boundaries too much.
*** Others' scene mileage might vary.