Writing without a net. No way.
Today, I was going to talk about how writing a novel is the ultimate mind puzzle. Believe me, it is. Those of you who are writers know that human gray matter has to go through all kinds of contortions to determine how a book gets from beginning to end, where the main characters make their entrance, what turns a snooze-fest of a plot into a page turner of a novel.
Yesterday, I remembered something I'd told myself months ago, something very important that I needed to do before I started writing Bewitched & Betrayed. Yesterday, I realized that I hadn't done it. Go back and flesh out the plot before I started writing.
When I sold The Trouble with Demons and Bewitched & Betrayed to my publisher in the spring of last year, I did so with a synopsis for each book. For Demons, I had a complete synopsis -- beginning to end and everything in between. Of course, as usual I deviated somewhat from that synopsis, but that was okay; the entire plot was there for me if I needed to refer back to it while writing the book. And I did, many times.
Well . . . with Bewitched & Betrayed, I did a "half synopsis." Since I didn't know exactly what was going to happen in Demons, I couldn't be concrete about the plot for B&B. So in the B&B synopsis for my publisher, I hit the highpoints, the new characters who would come into play, and their motivations. I even had the ending. Sounds kind of like a complete plot, doesn't it? I discovered that for me "kind of" doesn't cut it. I read back over the "synopsis" I wrote, and it reads like back jacket copy. You would read it and go, "Oh man, I want to read that book!" And my publisher did, because they bought it. But I need more in order to write the book.
I got the first five pages of Chapter 2 done last night, and realized I need to stop and get the plot finalized before I go any further. If I don't, I'm gonna regret it big time. So for the rest of this week, that's what I'm going to do -- finalize the plot for Bewitched & Betrayed. I'm sure it will change (they always do), but by Sunday night I will have a workable (and writable) plot, something to make sure that I don't go off track.
Tonight I won't be working on the plot, because I'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Cary, NC, tonight at 7:00 doing a booksigning/discussion/Q&A with fellow authors James Maxey and Mark Van Name. If you're in the Raleigh/Durham area, drop in and introduce yourself. Derek (my husband, manager, and arm candy) will be taking pictures, and I'll post them here tomorrow.
Time to put my nose to the grindstone.
Lisa
Yesterday, I remembered something I'd told myself months ago, something very important that I needed to do before I started writing Bewitched & Betrayed. Yesterday, I realized that I hadn't done it. Go back and flesh out the plot before I started writing.
When I sold The Trouble with Demons and Bewitched & Betrayed to my publisher in the spring of last year, I did so with a synopsis for each book. For Demons, I had a complete synopsis -- beginning to end and everything in between. Of course, as usual I deviated somewhat from that synopsis, but that was okay; the entire plot was there for me if I needed to refer back to it while writing the book. And I did, many times.
Well . . . with Bewitched & Betrayed, I did a "half synopsis." Since I didn't know exactly what was going to happen in Demons, I couldn't be concrete about the plot for B&B. So in the B&B synopsis for my publisher, I hit the highpoints, the new characters who would come into play, and their motivations. I even had the ending. Sounds kind of like a complete plot, doesn't it? I discovered that for me "kind of" doesn't cut it. I read back over the "synopsis" I wrote, and it reads like back jacket copy. You would read it and go, "Oh man, I want to read that book!" And my publisher did, because they bought it. But I need more in order to write the book.
I got the first five pages of Chapter 2 done last night, and realized I need to stop and get the plot finalized before I go any further. If I don't, I'm gonna regret it big time. So for the rest of this week, that's what I'm going to do -- finalize the plot for Bewitched & Betrayed. I'm sure it will change (they always do), but by Sunday night I will have a workable (and writable) plot, something to make sure that I don't go off track.
Tonight I won't be working on the plot, because I'll be at the Barnes & Noble in Cary, NC, tonight at 7:00 doing a booksigning/discussion/Q&A with fellow authors James Maxey and Mark Van Name. If you're in the Raleigh/Durham area, drop in and introduce yourself. Derek (my husband, manager, and arm candy) will be taking pictures, and I'll post them here tomorrow.
Time to put my nose to the grindstone.
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:00 AM
2 Comments:
I'll see your plot hole and raise you a gaping chasm.
Now going back to reading 'Outlining for Dummies'.
Have fun at your signing!
Been there, done that. Believe me, I once had the Grand Canyon of plot holes. Took a lot of work to fill that one. ; )
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