Take it one chapter at a time
Update on The Trouble With Demons: I finished the main part of the edits on Tuesday (meaning I got to the end of the book and took care of 98% of what needed to be done). Now I'm on the final read-thru, and am up to Chapter 13. I found I need to put in a little scene there, but after that's done, I'm off and running again. I plan to turn the final manuscript in to my editor next week (a week ahead of my deadline). I also got the cover/back cover copy for TTWD last night. It looks great! I'll be reviewing that over the next few days for any suggestions I'd like to make. By next weekend, I should have started writing Bewitched & Betrayed.
Today, I'm going to talk about something that I'll be needing to remind myself of once I start writing B&B -- when writing a book, take it one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time. Some people are intimidated away from writing a book because they think we authors have the whole book in our heads when we start. Heck, most of us don't have the whole book in our heads when we finish. They think that it's all there, we write it down and we're done. (LOL, snort!) Don't I wish.
Some of us (like myself) prefer to work with an outline. I've discovered that I like to work with a VERY detailed outline. Of course, I can change it (and I always do), but I know it's there like a security blanket. Other brave souls come up with an idea and just strike out on their own, no outline, no nothing -- they feel that to write anything down would sully the creative process. Most authors are somewhere in between. But all of us have one thing in common: we all have to write our books one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.
I absolutely MUST work this way. While of course I have my outline, when I'm actually doing the writing I have to force myself not to think much beyond the one moment in that scene that I'm writing. When the sheer enormity of what I have to accomplish pushes its way into my thoughts, my poor little brain just short-circuits -- actually it panics. How am I going to get from here to there? Oh crap, I forgot to include that character. Do I really need that character? Should I save him and his subplot for the next book? How is that subplot ever going to fit in? In short, I try to do what I don't think any author can do -- have the entire thing in your head at one time. It's kinda like looking at deep space pictures from the Hubble telescope. Your jaw drops open at just how vast the universe is. The same is true (on a much smaller scale) of your books' universe. It's just too big to comprehend all at once.
And when you do that, you lose the immediacy of the sentences you're writing, the intimacy between the characters in that scene. You lose that emotional human (or elf or goblin) touch. The realness of two people who care about each other, or hate each other, or one is about to betray the other -- their intimacy/connection/animosity is lost unless you immerse yourself in their moment, get into their minds, and understand what they're feeling. Only then can you accurately convey your characters' emotions and make the words come to life on the page -- one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.
Lisa
Today, I'm going to talk about something that I'll be needing to remind myself of once I start writing B&B -- when writing a book, take it one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time. Some people are intimidated away from writing a book because they think we authors have the whole book in our heads when we start. Heck, most of us don't have the whole book in our heads when we finish. They think that it's all there, we write it down and we're done. (LOL, snort!) Don't I wish.
Some of us (like myself) prefer to work with an outline. I've discovered that I like to work with a VERY detailed outline. Of course, I can change it (and I always do), but I know it's there like a security blanket. Other brave souls come up with an idea and just strike out on their own, no outline, no nothing -- they feel that to write anything down would sully the creative process. Most authors are somewhere in between. But all of us have one thing in common: we all have to write our books one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.
I absolutely MUST work this way. While of course I have my outline, when I'm actually doing the writing I have to force myself not to think much beyond the one moment in that scene that I'm writing. When the sheer enormity of what I have to accomplish pushes its way into my thoughts, my poor little brain just short-circuits -- actually it panics. How am I going to get from here to there? Oh crap, I forgot to include that character. Do I really need that character? Should I save him and his subplot for the next book? How is that subplot ever going to fit in? In short, I try to do what I don't think any author can do -- have the entire thing in your head at one time. It's kinda like looking at deep space pictures from the Hubble telescope. Your jaw drops open at just how vast the universe is. The same is true (on a much smaller scale) of your books' universe. It's just too big to comprehend all at once.
And when you do that, you lose the immediacy of the sentences you're writing, the intimacy between the characters in that scene. You lose that emotional human (or elf or goblin) touch. The realness of two people who care about each other, or hate each other, or one is about to betray the other -- their intimacy/connection/animosity is lost unless you immerse yourself in their moment, get into their minds, and understand what they're feeling. Only then can you accurately convey your characters' emotions and make the words come to life on the page -- one sentence, one scene, one chapter at a time.
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
7:26 AM
4 Comments:
This is advice I@m taking to heart. I'm beginning to plot a little bit of a story on paper (I've discovered I need at least the bare bones plotted).
But writing a scene at a time - need to stop thinking of the subplots which I do! Thank you for the advice!
Glad it helped! That's another advantage to having a book plotted out -- I can concentrate on what I'm writing at that moment, and if something else pops into my head, that's great. If not, I know I've got my plot done.
Thanks for all the advice! I haven't yet read your work, but have enjoyed the excerpts I have seen. The modern sensibility in the fantasy realm is nice, and different. I'll pick one up at the next opportunity.
I do appreciate your taking the time to write about the process. It has been helpful to me. Thanks again :)
I'm so glad my advice helps. I just try to pass along some of the stuff I've learned, and crap I've found out the hard way. ; )
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