Plotting Along

Or should the title of this post be "Plodding Along?" Heaven knows it's taking me forever to do the revisions/edits on Honor Bound. I am still on track to complete all the revisions by the end of July. It's a miracle, I know.

I'll be starting the revisions/edits and rewrites on the second book in the series the first full week of August. No title for that manuscript yet. I just refer to it as Vince's story. I'm terrible at coming up with titles. My goal is to have the revision/editing process on this manuscript completed by the end of October.

I also want to start working on the third book in the series. The opening scene is already written. I've learned I cannot write a draft from beginning to end without doing any revisions as I go along otherwise the editing/revising process takes me waaaaay too long. That being said, I'll be doing revisions to the third book as I write it.

I don't normally use a detailed plotting format when writing a first draft, but I don't really fly by the seat of my pants either. I sort of do a combination of the two. I write out two or three sentences for each chapter to help keep me on track. For the third book, I really want to try using a more detailed outline. I hope to be able to work on the outline a couple of days each week while I'm doing the revisions on Vince's story.

I'm planning on the plot outline being maybe seven to ten pages. Or I might try using index cards. I have a friend who writes out two to three index cards per chapter plus extra cards for major turning points, relationship growth, etc. She then puts the cards in order that she thinks the story will flow. There have been times where she's moved a card from one chapter to another earlier or later in the story. I like the idea of being able to rearrange things without having to cross out or use arrows on a page to indicate something being moved from one point in the manuscript to another.

With school supplies coming on sale soon, this might be a great time to pick up some index cards and give this method a try.

Before the Beginning

Before I start writing a new story, I do a small amount of plotting. Nothing major, just two or three sentence paragraphs for each chapter in the book to help me get from the first page to the last without too many side trips. That doesn't mean I don't get sidetracked with a subplot I hadn't originally intended because it still happens more often than not.

I wish I could plot or write an outline in more detail, but when I do, I have a hard time writing the story. It's almost as though I feel like it's already written. I tried not doing any plotting at all and ended up with a story line that didn't have any real focus and characters running around all over the place trying to figure out what their goals, motivations, and conflicts were.

I'm about 3 weeks away from finally, finally finishing the edits/revisions for Honor Bound. I'll be sending it out to a few beta readers for final thoughts on it. While it's out with them, I'll be working on the second story in the series. When I start plotting it, I'm going to try writing the paragraphs for each chapter on index cards to see if that helps me form a more linear plot line. A fellow writer plots in this way and says it's easier for her to lay out the plot because she can see it visually and if necessary move the index cards around to change the order of things without retyping anything. Another friend uses the same technique, but writes hers down on post-it notes and tacks them to a cork board or just sticks them to a wall in her office. I like that idea as well, but I'm afraid they'll fall off the wall and I won't remember what order I had them in.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see if it makes the plotting process easier.

When To Start

This week I'm starting work on a new novel.  I've been thinking about this particular story for about a year.  I haven't written it before now because it will have a long arc spanning at least 3, but more likely, 4 books. And while I want to write this particular story desperately, I think knowing it would span more than one book scared me at the same time.

I've taken copious notes, written out a timeline, and done research all in preparation to actually sitting down and putting the words of the story on paper. Now's the time to start.  Yet without writing a word, I'm already feeling overwhelmed. Part of my trepidation may be that I'm not much of a plotter. I write one or two sentence paragraphs outlining the key point for each chapter but not much else. I once tried writing a detailed outline/synopsis of a story and ended up not being able to write it. I think because the synopsis was so detailed, I felt like I couldn't deviate from it and ended up putting a choke hold on my imagination and where the story could go. 

I think I'm worried that my plot may not be able to sustain a series, even though I know it's the only way to tell the hero's story properly. But it's time to put fear aside and write the book that's been haunting me for so long. As the old adage about eating an elephant one bite at a time goes (paraphrasing here), I'm going to write this book - one word at at time. And while it may take me longer than it usually does to complete a first draft of a manuscript, I'm already looking forward to the sense of accomplishment of writing the one story I feel compelled to tell.