I’m working on my third novel. It’s definitely an adventure. I feel like my characters are more developed then they have been in the previous two novels I’ve written.
But I'm also doing something different this time. I'm not plotting out the story. When I finished my second novel, I knew it needed edits. So I sat down and plotted out the entire novel, scene by scene. I carefully thought through each plot point. I looked for holes. I made sure every character's arc intertwined with the others perfectly. This kind of plotting took me hours.
Unfortunately, I haven't touched that novel since I plotted it. I effectively killed any interest I had in the story. I've wondered about it for days: is it because I now knew the ending, the ultimate ending for my book?
I also know the ending for my third novel that I'm writing. I know it down to most of the details. I've been replaying it in my head for days. But the challenge for me now is how to get to happily ever after. How do my hero and heroine who are fighting like cats and dogs come to realize their love for one another? How does my heroine finally find the strength to say 'no' when she's supposed to and stop being scared?
It's in these questions, I've found the answer. Even if I already know the ending, I want to know how my characters got from point A to Z. I don't write for the ending. I write to be taken on a journey.
How about you? Do you plot or write as you go? Leave your thoughts in the comments section!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
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2 comments:
I've never plotted my stories...and neither have I finished any of them! The furthest I've ever gotten was halfway through my first draft...then I lost interest and thought of some new ideas, for new stories. I like to think, though, that I don't plot on paper because I can fit so much more detail and ideas in my head (which is true). However, these ideas can then sometimes seem difficult, even impossible, to express in words; so with my newest novel, I promised myself at the start that I would translate my ideas into bulleted plots before they became too complicated in my head to easily get down on paper. However, I'm in the second chapter now, and have only managed to do so with my "character sketches" (my descriptions of the characters). It's working well so far, but now I have to come up the right ending for the story and then motivate myself to write a plot. :)
I just found this blog. It's awesome! I know this post is old, but I wanted to add my 2 cents. :) I do a mixture of both; plotting and writing as I go. Now that you say it, I do find that when I know my ending, I don't write the book as well. That's an interesting thought.
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