I usually get an idea, let it mull around in my head for a few days, jot down some ideas here and there, and then work out the major plot points. After that I start writing up my 3x5 index cards and figuring out what scenes need to go between the major plot points. And then I hopefully get to writing. :)
LOL...much like my life, there's no underlying plan or purpose.
For both Small Town Ghosts and for the current WIP, I started with a character and then determined the major plot turning point and then i just start writing. My first draft is basically my way of outlining and note-taking and researching, all rolled up.
i'm so jealous that the title comes first for you - it's usually the last thing to come around for me - USUALLY i get an idea for a character and their problem - then i build a plot out of that with surrounding characters and world - then i USUALLY write up an outline - just a loose thing to help me remember what order i want the scenes to go in with some notes about what needs to happen in said scene and perhaps even a note on why they're important - title usually doesn't come for me till after the first draft (and even then, it can be a few drafts in before i even have a clue about title, and the first one rarely sticks)
Writing stories, I often begin with a title and an epigraph, although by the time it's done, I may have changed the title, and probably won't include the epigraph.
Well, of course, as with the well-known invasion of Normandy, quite a bit had to happen before that armada left the harbor, but it wasn't really an invasion until that first paratrooper put his silk in the wind.
Likewise, quite a few us began as a six-pack of beer and a song on the radio, but the romance, such as it was, had to be consummated.
Comments 19
Oz
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
For both Small Town Ghosts and for the current WIP, I started with a character and then determined the major plot turning point and then i just start writing. My first draft is basically my way of outlining and note-taking and researching, all rolled up.
Reply
Reply
Reply
It never used to come first, but I find a good title really helps the old inspiration :)
Reply
although by the time it's done, I may have changed the title,
and probably won't include the epigraph.
Reply
How do you start writing a book?
I know of no better way than putting one's fingertips to the keyboard.
:)
Reply
Reply
as with the well-known invasion of Normandy,
quite a bit had to happen before that armada left the harbor,
but it wasn't really an invasion
until that first paratrooper put his silk in the wind.
Likewise, quite a few us began as a six-pack of beer and a song on the radio,
but the romance, such as it was, had to be consummated.
Reply
Leave a comment