My friend Jaimey Grant honored me by awarding me the Creative Blogger Award and the Let’s Be Friends Award. Thanks, Jaimey!
As part of the Creative Blogger Award, I’m to tell seven things about me. I’ll make those seven things pertinent to my writing process, as it is continually evolving and has a direct bearing on how Heart’s Chalice, my current novel-in-progress, is coming together.
1. Plotster vs. Pantster: When I started writing novels with an eye toward publication, I was 100% Panster; that is, I flew by the seat of my pants in developing my stories. Panstering worked well for straightforward, linear plots like those of Mirror Blue or Patchwork Stained Glass (a recently completed draft which is in the revisions stage). But for Heart’s Chalice, a complex story with magical elements, panstering didn’t work well. I spent most of last year trying to get the story of Heart’s Chalice to come together, but even three drafts later, it wouldn’t oblige me.
2. Top-Down Approach: So after working on Patchwork Stained Glass and letting Heart’s Chalice bake in my mind’s oven for a while, I decided on a more structured approach. I began by looking at the story of Heart’s Chalice top-down. What was my story about, stated simply? I started with a sentence. Then I expended that sentence to a paragraph. For each of my characters, I wrote a summary of the story from his or her point of view. Then, I really got cracking. I broke down the major plot points of my story into a bulleted list, and as I worked with each point, my story began to grow in new directions. I followed my points where they led, and my outline was born.
3. Outline: At first, my outline was simple — a bulleted list of plot points. But the more I worked with the outline, the more intricate it became, and soon I found myself weaving in brand new threads, tying them together with the old threads, and strengthening the character-driven nature of my story in the process. The key was keeping each plot point concise. That way, I wasn’t overwhelmed by Plot Bunnies (they breed like dust bunnies if a writer isn’t careful).
4. Fixing Snags: My outline became the Mother of All Monster Outlines — 83 pages and almost 60,000 words. But because it was so well-organized, I could fix plot holes, snags, continuity issues, and world-building inconsistencies much more easily than would have been possible in a rambling 100,000 word manuscript.
5. Writing the Story: As a result of the pre-writing work I did, the actual writing of Heart’s Chalice has been a breeze. So far, at least *knock on wood.* 
I truly expect that to continue. I haven’t been this sparky about a story in three years, and I’m really excited. As of this post, I have 21,000 words drafted, and I’ve never had a novel come together as well as this one. Talk about Writer’s High! I needed it, too — believe me.
6. Willful Characters: Lest anybody think I’m sticking like super-glue to my Mother of All Monster Outlines, let me assure you this isn’t the case. The outline was analogous to laying the foundation of Heart’s Chalice and building its support structure. My characters, however, are responsible for its décor. And they’re finagling with the décor in ways I could never have anticipated. Characters who develop into beings with wills of their own are the most delightful aspect of writing fiction. My outline, in its foundation and structure, is still strong and sturdy within the story of Heart’s Chalice. But my characters are determining the look and feel of their home. I wouldn’t expect anything less. Nice job, characters!
7. Letting Things Flow: For the first draft of Heart’s Chalice, I’ve duct-taped shut the mouth of my inner editor and locked her in my mind’s closet. And I expect the first draft of Heart’s Chalice to be on the long side. But once I’ve finished the draft, I’ll let my inner editor have her way with the story, and the revisions stage will begin. Writing a novel is as much rewriting as it is writing. First comes raw creation, then comes the honing. Both are equally important.
On the hiking front: the forest still has color, but more and more leaves are on the ground.
And on my last hike, I got this amazing shot of a vulture sitting high up in a tree (had to use my zoom lens for this one).
16 Comments
Good for you. Things are coming along nicely. Glad you got your inner editor subdued. So far all I’ve done is distract mine with something shiny. Love the vulture pic. Vultures don’t get near enough love and respect.
Don’t laugh, but I think vultures are some of the coolest birds around.
Thanks, Leah! *giggling* at distracting your editor with something nice and shiny. And yeah, isn’t the vulture cool? There were several of them flying around.
Hi, Susan — nope, I won’t laugh, ’cause I think vultures are cool, too.
You’ve clarified the biggest misconception of outlining – that it limits creativity. Not so! The characters still act out, demand changes, and surprise. The outline, when used correctly, just keeps everything moving in the right direction.
My outlines are usually very vague – just a list of bullet points. But they keep me more or less on track, and the novel I end up with is always different in significant ways than my original vision. That’s just how it goes.
Thanks, Bunnygirl! That’s definitely been my experience. Working on my outline has enhanced my creativity for the story. As you said, an outline helps keep things on track, and it dissuades the propagation of plot bunnies. I love real life bunnies, but plot bunnies can really derail a story, lol!
Congrats on your creative blogger award and thanks for sharing some of the processes you use in writing your novels – very interesting. Vultures are cool and very useful too!
Thanks, Gabrielle! I’m glad you enjoyed reading about my processes. They’re a work in progress, that’s for sure, much like my WIPs.
I was tickled to see vultures on that hike — and today, I saw hawks! They were flying way too high for pictures, though.
Two Awards at once- Congratulations!
Also congratulations on your novel progress. It’s great when the characters know what they want to say n do!
Great hiking pics- I can’t get bird shots like that unless they are very close to me. My cam pixelates when I zoom too far. Maybe I’ll post more fading colors soon, myself. Looks like you’re right up there on top, in the pic below!
I’m a big fan of vultures too…
Thanks for sharing some insights into your way of working… I like your comment about wilful characters…
Thanks, Snaggle! Yup, love it when characters push me around. They were pretty pushy in the outline, but now that I’m writing the story, they’re downright bullheaded (and I’m loving it). Using my zoom lens on my camera is tricky — very easy to blur the pictures. I’m glad I got Mr. Vulture, unblurred.
You’re welcome, Crafty! IMO the best fiction is character-driven, so I know I’m on the right track when my characters demand their way in a story.
Cute awards. Congratulations.
I changed from a pantster to a plotster back when I started turning Scrungy into a multi-novel series. Finding the things I learned with that project extremely helpful in writing a mystery series. Like you, no matter how much outlining and plotting I’ve done on a story, the characters are in the driver’s seat and they change directions a lot.
Love the vulture and your crunchy forest. Soon the snow will cover everything over.
Thanks, KS!
Yup indeed — characters in the driver’s seat.
It’s what makes fiction-writing come alive. It feels like I’m sitting back watching the action and frantically trying to keep up by writing it all down. Such a high!
Oh, I hope we get some good snows this year. I love snow. I want enough snow to make a snow kitty!
((((((((((((((ginormous hugs)))))))))))))
Amazing description of process. Astounding 60,000 word outline! Fascinating how characters take over within working through foundation of outline. And, needless to say, great photos.
Thanks, Squirrel! I have a good feeling about this story. It was coming together like crazy in the outline phase, which made me feel all sparky, and also superduper in light of the fact that I was pulling my hair out over this very story at this time last year. Love how much difference a year can make — heartening and ever-hopeful.
I LOVED your willful characters in Mirror Blue, gives such a strong realism to the whole book, just like people in ones’ own life — they hardly ever buck up and do what you want them to.
You are so on the writing, Girl! Will you stick with me when I grow up one day??
*grin*, Jannie! Thank you so much. Yup, the characters who spring from my brain tend to be willful — much like their progenitor, hmm!
And yup, I’m stickin’ with you, girlfriend — but I’m not grown up yet, either! lol xoxoxo