How I plot a book (Part 1 of ??)
Since I'm smack dab in the middle of plotting out a book, I thought it'd be a good time to tell you my process (such that it is). I've always been fascinated with how other writers work. For the writers out there, I'd love to hear about your process. Respond to this blog or email me if you'd like to share.
For me, plotting a book is just like writing one -- some parts are inspired and I can't write fast enough, other times I'm completely and utterly stuck (like right now), and am wondering if pounding my head against the nearest wall will shake loose some ideas. Tempting to try, but I'd better hold off on that one. I've had a concussion before. Not fun.
My ideas come to me in bits and pieces, parts of dialogue and chunks of chapters. Whenever this happens, I write it down (good old notepads), then transcribe it into my laptop. Important safety (and sanity) tip: ALWAYS, ALWAYS back up everything you've written EVERY DAY. I cannot stress the importance of that. I have a flash drive at my day job office, I keep one in my pocketbook, I have my laptop, and when I get a draft finished of a work, I back it up on Derek's computer too. So all of my work is stored in four different places, with one of those being outside of my house. Don't put all of your backups in one place; kinda defeats the purpose.
I'm digressing, back to plotting. I have bits, pieces and chunks of ideas, dialogue and scenes that I've accumulated for years. I know I'll use them eventually, so I just keep adding to the file, and throw absolutely nothing away. As a result, I have well over a hundred pages (single spaced) of stuff to browse through and choose from.
When I'm starting a new book, I have the basic "big picture" in my head of what I want to do -- this always changes once I get into the actual writing. But to start, I sit down and read through The File. It's kinda like going shopping. I'm browsing and select the parts and pieces that appeal to me. I copy what I think I might use out of The File, I never cut. That way, I always have an intact master file of everything. I paste the bits & pieces into a new Word doc. That's my starting point.
Tomorrow: What I do with the "bits & pieces."
For me, plotting a book is just like writing one -- some parts are inspired and I can't write fast enough, other times I'm completely and utterly stuck (like right now), and am wondering if pounding my head against the nearest wall will shake loose some ideas. Tempting to try, but I'd better hold off on that one. I've had a concussion before. Not fun.
My ideas come to me in bits and pieces, parts of dialogue and chunks of chapters. Whenever this happens, I write it down (good old notepads), then transcribe it into my laptop. Important safety (and sanity) tip: ALWAYS, ALWAYS back up everything you've written EVERY DAY. I cannot stress the importance of that. I have a flash drive at my day job office, I keep one in my pocketbook, I have my laptop, and when I get a draft finished of a work, I back it up on Derek's computer too. So all of my work is stored in four different places, with one of those being outside of my house. Don't put all of your backups in one place; kinda defeats the purpose.
I'm digressing, back to plotting. I have bits, pieces and chunks of ideas, dialogue and scenes that I've accumulated for years. I know I'll use them eventually, so I just keep adding to the file, and throw absolutely nothing away. As a result, I have well over a hundred pages (single spaced) of stuff to browse through and choose from.
When I'm starting a new book, I have the basic "big picture" in my head of what I want to do -- this always changes once I get into the actual writing. But to start, I sit down and read through The File. It's kinda like going shopping. I'm browsing and select the parts and pieces that appeal to me. I copy what I think I might use out of The File, I never cut. That way, I always have an intact master file of everything. I paste the bits & pieces into a new Word doc. That's my starting point.
Tomorrow: What I do with the "bits & pieces."
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:24 AM
3 Comments:
I kind of like the "big picture" file and if I were starting today I might go with that approach. However, I've been writing for about 20 years now, and I have files scattered all over the place. Hundreds of them. There are two hard drives sitting on my desk because one day I want to install them on this computer and harvest some old files. I have a little floppy disk with the very oldest of my stuff, written in the 80s. I have print-outs in a file folder of my cabinet, with yellowed plot ideas.
I've outlined entire books and then set them aside with a mental "nah!" Will I use them one day? Who knows?
The file I have is just stuff from the past 5-7 years. When we were unpacking from our move, I did glance through a binder I had with "Novel Ideas" written down the side. It was older than ten years. Yikes! Though it's nice to read things like that and see how much you've improved. ; )
I have a similar folder I call Excerpts. I'm a real prose packrat. I like to hoard all those precious words. Never know when you might need a spare scene.
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