My first draft writing is a messy process. I know–my DH tells me all the time–that I sound very left-brained about writing. Organized. Logical. Structured.

And I am.

BUT once I have that structure, I’m VERY right-brained.

Unexpected. Once I know the direction that I need to go, I don’t mind letting go and doing the unexpected. When I understand the function of a particular scene, then I’m free to be creative about how I accomplish that. One librarian recently told me that The Wayfinder (now available for Kindle, Nook, iPad/iPhone) continually surprised her; the actions/plot took unexpected turns and kept her reading. (WOW! I like THAT librarian.)

I like doing the unexpected and telling the story in a surprising way. I can only do that when I’m structured to an extent.

Uneasy. Sometimes, though, I’m uneasy about a section. Or a quick read by a friend points out a weakness. Then, the process gets very messy. I try writing something, then think, oh, this or that reference book says something about this, so I find the book and read a bit until–something strikes me and I’m off writing again. The rhythms of writing at this point are anything but smooth: staccato, jerky, speeding up or slowing down. I usually find that by the end of the day I’ve solved the problem(s). But I have no idea how I got to that point. It’s an uneasy process sometimes, but it’s the only process I have and I have to trust it.

I like the structure and organization at the beginning of the process, at the beginning of the day. But after I’ve set up the structure, I very much trust the messy right brain to pull through for me.

What does YOUR process look like? Do you organize first, then write messy? Or are you organized all the way? Or messy all the way?

It's Here.

First Drafts are Uncertain, by Nature

I’m at that fragile stage of the first draft when I’m not totally committed to this story. I’m still feeling my way and haven’t yet gained confidence that I will like the story, or that my readers will like it. I’m walking on eggshells.

What can I do to GET committed?

Play with voice.

The main thing I’m doing is to continue to play with voice, making sure that I’m not tied into one way of telling this story yet. I’m doing first person, third person, omniscient. Different narrators are popping up. I’m trying a loose collection of short scenes and trying longer, more connected things. Playing.

Keep writing.

Though it feels like I’m swimming upstream against a heavy curtain, I’m still writing. Just bits and pieces each day, but pages are starting to accumulate so that I can start to see the shape of things. I’m writing.

Embrace uncertainty.

Hardest for me personally is to embrace the uncertainty of this stage of a first draft of a novel. I’m liking the main event and the characters and even most of the plot (so far). But I’ve found that there are two things I need to know. First, what is the story that I want to tell. Second, what is the best way to tell that story.

I’ve found the story, at least I’ve caught it and am wrestling with it. What this draft will tell me is whether I’ve found the best way to tell that story.

It's Here.

Searching for Plot Events

I’m evaluating the outline for my WIP novel and realize that I need more events. It takes place at one big event that spans 98 hours. Within that time period, though, I need some exciting things happening. I’ve sorta mapped out the emotional changes (Wow, what a change for me!), but now it’s the events themselves that matter.

In Roz Morris’ Nail Your Novel book, (a great book to use when writing your first draft!) she suggests that you use a box and just throw in ideas. The ideas can come from brainstorming or from research about a topic. Don’t worry about where the bit of action goes in the story, just write it on a card and throw it into the mix.
When the box is full, or when you’ve done enough research, then you can sort through ideas and evaluate if they will fit into your novel. You’ll want to toss some of them as unsuitable for your story. The rest, though, you can start to sort and put into a reasonable order.

Because my novel has a tight time line, I’ve done a modification. As shown in the picture here, I’ve created three envelopes. As I’m doing research and brainstorming, I’m slotting events loosely into Act 1, Act 2 or Act 3 of my novel. So, use one big envelope or box or several envelopes based on whatever division works for your novel. For example, you might want to use one envelope for each subplot, or perhaps for each major setting of your novel.

In any event, I’m still trying out voices and still plotting. What stage is your WIP at?

It's Here.

Time Line Helps You Plot

I know that my new novel will take place over a 98 hour span of time. So, I’m working with those 98 hours, creating and structuring the time line of the story in these ways.

Divide the Novel into Acts

The idea of 3 acts is old, but still useful. Some divide a story into four acts. In 3 acts, the structure is the opening, the middle and the conclusion. In 4 acts, the middle is divided into two sections and can have various structures. For example: conflict/resolution, trying to solve a problem/learning to accept the problem. It is useful to think about some sort of twist or change at the midpoint of a story, something that escalates the story or twists it in a slightly new direction.

For example, in the movie Lion King, in Act 2:part 1, Simba is living the good life, makuna matata. But at the midpoint of the story, he sees his father in the stars and realizes he must return to take his rightful place. Act 2:part 2 is about Simba struggling to take back the pride.

While that sort of midpoint change is helpful, I still like to think of a story as 3 acts, instead of four because it helps me keep the middle integrated better.

Act 1: In the opening act, I want to introduce the main events and characters and explain exactly what is at stake. The act ends with something that forces the characters to commit to solving a problem in a certain way.

Act 2: Emotional Heart This act has been called the emotional heart of the story. I’m learning to make sure that the emotional arc of the characters is clear here. At that midpoint, the character inevitable faces what s/he fears the most and there is some sort of character growth.
Act 2: Solving the problem. Also in Act 2, the main character tries a number of strategies for solving the problem and most of them end in a disaster which makes everything worse. Oh, he learns things and has a few successful moments. But they are illusions.
Act 2 ends with another disaster which sends the story into Act 3, with the potential for a lot of action.

Act 3: Here, the story events build to a climax. The story can actually end one of four different ways.

• Failure, but that’s good.
• Failure, and that’s bad.
• Success, but that’s bad.
• Success, and that’s good.

In other words, the main character of your novel can succeed in his/her goal. But the story events will tell the reader if that success or failure is a good thing or not.

Slot Novel Events into Time Line

Besides dividing the time line into acts, I’m also trying to slot in events. I know certain events are possible given the setting and characters, but the order of events has some flexibility. I’m finding the combined time line and division into acts useful. Originally, I wanted two characters to star gaze at a particular point in Act 2, that is in the structure of the story. But when I consulted the time line, it was mid-afternoon. Won’t work. If they star gaze, they’ll have to have a different dynamic going on than I had planned because they’ll be at a different point in the act structure.

Track Emotional Arc through Time Line and Events

Once I have the time line divided into acts and have slotted in some events, I’m looking at the emotional arc of the main characters and of the subplots. How do the stages of the emotional arc fit into the structure I’m building?

Whew! Seems like a lot of prewriting. Yes, but my weakness is making sure the emotional arc is strong and I’m trying harder to solve problems in the planning phase. Also, the event can not stretch out any longer. This story must resolve in 98 hours. So, the nature of the beast requires more planning this time. Lots of planning. But I’m also starting to try out some voices, and when I get to that, it’s starting to be way more fun. That’s when the structure will allow me to turn loose and be very right-brained about the story, secure in the knowledge that the skeleton is right.

It's Here.

I’ve done enough prewriting work on my new novel to know a lot about it. But today, as I worked, I realized that I know the main plot, but not the subplots.

This is a complex story, with about 12 character who need to be clearly delineated. There will be about 5-6 subplots going on between characters and they need to be clear, need to have a connection to the main plot, and need to have minor arcs of both plot and emotions.

Because of this complexity, I feel the need to clarify in my mind those subplots before I start. When I laid them all out, I found that they seemed disconnected.

Subplots must support or reinforce, contrast or counterpoint, the main plot and intersect at important points of the story. If there’s more than one subplot, there should be variety with some supporting or reinforcing and some contrasting or counterpointing. Variety is what’s needed.

I looked at my subplots to see if I could categorize them in some way. I found that I am playing with the idea of identity or self-image. Do we define ourselves by our education, body image, entertainment preferences (TV, food, music) or by ethnic differences? The main plot says we define ourselves in terms of our families. So, these subplots work. My tasks will be to make sure they refer back to self-image/identity without being too overt, and to add variety among them.

It's Here.

I’m getting much closer to actually starting my new novel, but I’m still asking myself a crucial question.

What is the cost of success for the main character?

Loss of innocence. If you write a bildungsroman novel, that genre which take a main character from childhood to adulthood, the cost is a loss of innocence. I’m actually doing this, but I also want a physical thing to represent that turning away from childish things and toward more mature things.

It could be something like putting away stuffed animals in favor of taking care of real animals, accepting the responsibility of their care. I’m looking around my story for possibilities.

Physical cost. Or, there could be a real physical cost. In his book about writing science fiction, Orson Scott Card talks about developing a story where men could do powerful magic. BUT, to make it cost something, he decided that magic could only be powerful if the mage cut off a part of himself. Cutting off a finger was a small magic, but cutting off an arm was bigger magic.

That kind of sacrifice is built into the framework of the story, the milieu. It could be used in the climax of the story effectively by the making a mage choose a bigger physical sacrifice for the biggest magic, a sort of literal self-sacrifice.

Emotional sacrifice. Of course, there are emotions that can be given up for the greater good of someone in the story. Think of Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities..

Finding the Right Sacrifice

I’m asking these questions:

• What does my character love the most? What if she had to give it up?
• What does my character fear the most? How can I make her face that fear?
• What character hurts the most? Could that character be the main character? How could I make my main character hurt the most?

I know that the ending of my story’s plot needs more punch and I’m sure it’s because I haven’t yet asked my main character to make a choice, to sacrifice something important in order to gain something even better.

Somewhere, Katherine Paterson said that creating a plot is like cutting an image into stone with only a paper clip. (obviously that’s paraphrased!) Wish someone could give me a stone chisel, because I feel exactly the same!

It's Here.

As I’m working on the plan for this new novel, creating characters and trying out voices, I’m trying to strengthen my weakest areas.

My Weakness is Character

My weakness is character. I can plot fine, but creating characters with plausible character growth is hard for me. I think I’ve got it and my friends tell me that I’m still way off.

This time, I’m majoring on the character’s emotional life. I won’t actually start writing until I have charted the ups and downs of the character as she moves through the events planned.

In James Frey’s book, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II, he gives an example of the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah. Frey uses the idea of a premise, or a short statement about the overall story. For Samson, he uses the premise: Repentance leads to a glorious death.

Frey says that a premise isn’t the same as a moral, and doesn’t have to match up with what we would normally call moral or right or ethical. Instead, it’s a summary of what THIS STORY is saying; it’s intrinsic to this one and only story.

What I liked was when Frey expanded upon the premise:

God’s love leads to a great strength, which leads to heroism in battle, which leads to haughtiness and arrogance, which leads to temptations of the flesh, which leads to betrayal, which leads to defeat and disgrace and blindness, which leads to repentance, which leads to a restoration of superpowers, which leads to a glorious death.

He says the premise, “Repentance leads to a glorious death” is merely a shorthand for the longer version.

Well, I’ve got the premise down! What I’m trying to do right now is to expand it (hindsight is always easier!) so that I can see the character arc better, especially the emotional arc. I love that Frey’s expansion had character qualities: haughty, arrogant, disgrace.

I would like to make it even more tied to those, so it will help me write a better character story:

God’s love overwhelms, which leads to devotion to God, which leads to surprising gift of great strength, which leads to courage, which leads to a heady success in battle, which leads to haughtiness and arrogance, which leads to less devotion to God, which leads to passion and love for Delilah, which leads to betrayal and heartache, which leads to defeat, despair, disgrace and blindness, which leads to repentance, which leads to a renewed awe and devotion to God, which leads to surprising gift of super strength restored, which leads to ultimate sacrifice for sake of God, which leads to a glorious death.

Well, maybe not that much different, but I like–and need–that emphasis on character.

While I’m developing character conflicts, I’m also working on this emotional arc. When I know the arc, then it will be easier to test plot events to make sure they are related to this emotional arc.

It's Here.

Starting a new novel, I always try to look at the structure of the plot, but this time, I’m especially looking at character issues, since that’s my weakness.

A Story of XXX becomes a Story of ZZZ

It’s always that tricky second act that’s hard. The actions for the beginning and ending are easy, especially for the story I have in mind. But the second act is the place where characters confront each other and lives change. How to plan for that in the plot? How do you keep from having a sagging middle?

Often, there is a midpoint where a story totally shifts in a different direction. For example, in the movie “The Lion King”, there’s a dramatic shift. Act 1 is where the father is killed and Simba is left an orphan and runs away. Act 2/1st half he’s living the good life, “Acuna matata.” Then, his father talks to him from the stars and Simba realizes he must return home and face his evil uncle. A story of carefree living becomes a story of taking up his father’s mantle and leading his pack.

In the movie, “The Professional,” a teen’s family is murdered and a neighbor — who just happens to be a hit man — takes her in and protects her. The midpoint comes when these two unlikely characters realize they care for each other. A story of violence becomes a story of love.

The change isn’t always a 180 degree shift; sometimes, it’s a 90 degree shift. It just means that the character’s goals change somewhat because the character has changed.

Facing the Past

The midpoint often means facing something from your past. A secret is revealed. A character faces some guilt. A truth must be dealt with. It must cost the character something to turn in a different direction.

Sometimes the midpoint change is a switch from emphasis on the physical plot to an emphasis on the emotional plot. The physical plot in my new story is one of endurance. That’s just built into the events. So, I’m asking myself how this can change.

A struggle to endure becomes a struggle to understand.
A struggle to endure becomes a struggle to accept.
A struggle to endure becomes . . .

Not sure yet, where it will go, but thinking this way is helping me find the story I want to tell. It’s already meant changing the parents of my main character in more interesting ways. I’ve found some secrets in the family’s past.

It's Here.

I’m a terrible writer!
I planned to start on my new novel yesterday and got so busy catching up on correspondence, just sitting and doodling, that I wrote NOTHING!

That does it. I’m back on the one page/day schedule.

When I first started writing, I was home-schooling 4 kids. For months, I carried around an ink pen to remind myself that I was a writer. Several pairs of jeans were ruined when the ink ran. At first, I tried to write 15 minutes/day. Even then, I realized that slow and steady does the trick. That’s when I first when on the page-a-day schedule.

One Page a Day Writing Schedule

You write one page a day, five days a week. You get the weekend off. At the end of a week, you have 5 pages; at the end of a month, you have 20+ pages. At the end of the year–you get two weeks vacation!–you have 250+ pages. If you’re lucky, it’s a complete draft of a novel.

It’s a simple plan. And it works. You can write weekends, too, if you want and skip the vacation. Almost anyone can follow this plan. If you work full time, if you have small children, if you have physical handicaps–doesn’t matter. You can do a page a day. You can.

Today, no matter what, I’m writing a page.
And I’ll do it again tomorrow.
And the next day.
Until, I hit my stride and think that writing ONLY a page a day isn’t enough.

But even then, I’ll always know that this is my fall-back plan.

Tracking Progress

Some people like to track their progress by setting up a spreadsheet and recording the number of words or pages/day. I know there is software that tracks progress toward goals and widgets for your website. What are you using to track your progress?

It's Here.

I’m finally — after two major life events, a grandchild and my daughter’s wedding — ready to start a new novel. I’ve found two mentor texts that I’m hoping will show me something about how to proceed.

Novels to Imitate and Learn From

Educators often use mentor texts when teaching writing to kids. The idea is to choose texts that in some way model the type of writing you want as a result. This means you need a good vision for the end result, or the mentor texts you choose won’t help.

For my new novel, I know that I”ll have quite a few characters and that the POV will probably change often; each section might be quite short; that I might be playing with 3rd person and omniscient POVs. I’ve been looking around and found two that are interesting in this respect.

The first is the 1979 Newbery book, The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. It features over a dozen characters; it moves in and out of omniscient and 3rd; it has very short sections. Interestingly, Kathi Appelt’s Newbery Honor book, The Underneath, also features multiple characters and she uses short chapters, changing POV often.

Permission and Hope. From these texts, first, I have permission to break the rule of only one main character, one main POV. That’s important. It can be done and done well. Which also gives me hope!

Direction to Start. I’m looking to these two texts as a direction for my first efforts. That does NOT mean I intend to write with a Raskin/Appelt voice. I expect to produce something quite different. Still, this is a place to start.

Reference and Teaching. I hope to learn how to move from POV to POV and keep the pacing fast, interest high, and reader involvement at the maximum. I think it will be helpful to refer to these mentor texts as I write the first draft; but I think it will be even more helpful as I work on revision later.

So, this week, I’m hoping to make a start, write a couple exploratory pieces, outline, work on character sketches. It’s a start.

It's Here.