This is your Sleep on Coffee

[zia_montrose]

Oh yeah.  I forgot about a few coffee side effects - namely, insomnia and headaches - especially if I drink it in the afternoon.  I think these were the main reasons I gave it up, except on weekends (as a treat) and ski mornings.

So like a good Potter-obsessed soul, when I had a hard time falling asleep last night, I somehow connected to the thought

Comments

[moonette1]

Oh, I loved this, too! I so enjoy those little moments of HP characters that JKR would never have the time to fit into her massive plots. It very sweet and intimate. Wonderful!

I'm certain I can't add much of anything useful to St. Margarets' wise words. I can just relay my experience and what works for me. In order for me to write a multichaptered story, I have to have the storyline thought out in a basic way beforehand. I have to have a good handle on how I'm going to begin it, and how I'm going to end it, and some of the stuff in between, though not all of the in between, by any stretch. I need that direction in order to start. It's like a map. And then I write, write, write!! And revise, revise, revise! I'm a big reviser. I absolutely LOVE revising. I don't let the initial draft stifle me. I just keep going, even if I know it's not perfect - it NEVER is!

I also have a HARD time writing scenes out of my story's order. Some people do that really well, and I suppose it can hinder me in instances of block earlier in the story when I should just forge ahead and do the scenes that are alive in my mind. But it's the building up to those scenes that help me write them the way they are supposed to be written in the context. But that's just a personal thing.

So my advice to you is that when the muse strikes next time, and you think it can make a good story, perhaps you should write out the plan. A sketch of how you're going to begin, where you'll end up, and how the characters might change or grow to that end. It can keep you on course.

Now - a few qualifiers on that end. I don't actually outline in the strict sense, but I describe what I want the story to be about, and where it will go. It can be in paragraph form. If I've been musing on it enough, I can describe each chapter, or even scene, out in order. But that's usually after I've already started and daydreamed, mulled, etc for a while on it. It's also NEVER set in stone and can easily be modified as I need. And as St. Margarets will tell you - sometimes your characters surprise you. I think she's much more open to that than I, I might be too cautious. But it's a personal thing. And my plan is not strict, simply a guide so that I'm not floundering in circles. And if you know your mauraders, and don't want to trivialize them, you won't, because you're taking care not to! Don't let that fear keep you away. And remember - if they venture into trivialization, REVISE!! I recently ventured into melodrama, and so I stepped back and revised to better fit the character's reserved personality. That's what the delete button is for!

Get going, you!

[zia_montrose]

Gosh... I think this advice combined with St. Margaret's advice is what I really need. Planning is very hard for me and therefore, so much the better. I'm pretty good with "plotlets", but working these into a bigger plot where the characters enter one side of the story and then come out the other as changed individuals is much harder. I think I need to really decide what those changes in my characters will be. I did try to plan one story, but I think I just haven't worked my plan enough... or properly... I may have tried to plan too many details and not enough big picture.

I've also started writing first attempts more skeletally, which is good, such as...

[James enters here and is noticed by Lily] and then I go back and fill in. That way, I don't get bogged down on when she looked up, where she was seated, what she was doing, who else noticed, etc.

Maybe I can mentally create a "bloopers" section with my scraps, like at the end of a bad movie (I'm think along the lines of Dom DeLouise in Canonball run) if I've trivialized or knee-slapped with my characters. - HA!

Planning will be harder than revising, but I'll put on my stern McGonogall face and get started! If I get stuck I'm going to come back and read this advice over again.

Thanks a bunch Moonette! I'm thankful for the counsel! Zia

[zia_montrose]

"characters entering one side of the story and coming out the other changed..."

by the way, I can tell from the glimpses of your Oliver story that you're good at this, so I know I'm getting expert advice ; )