So remember last week when I talked about my difficulties with beginnings? Then remember Thursday when Kelsey posted about beginnings and middles?
(You don't? Okay, I'll remind you.)
I got stuck around 8k. Probably some part of that was because I was sick and cold medicine makes my brain foggy, but in the end, I was still stuck. Completely, utterly, oh-my-goodness, what am I doing, what the heck do I do now, stuck.
The process of dealing with it went something like this: I whined on Twitter. I cleaned my spare room. I whined on Twitter. I cleaned my bedroom. I whined on Twitter more. I cleaned a little bit of the kitchen counter where I throw stuff when I come home and it collects into a disaster zone. I whined on Twitter some more.
Then Sarah Ockler tweeted something and I remembered this post, which has helped me so many times in the past.
So here's my take on that.
You can click the image to enlarge it, but it's not the best picture. Here's how it breaks down:The dark purple numbered cards: Things that had already happened. Not in any great detail. Usually about one sentence, each card may or may not make sense to anyone but me, but it works.
The green numbered cards: Scenes I've written that aren't in le WIP yet, one per line.
The magenta numbered cards: When that all was done, I thought about my WIP and I thought about what I wanted to happen and wrote it down. This didn't really need to be done on an index card, but it was way less intimidating to do it on an index card than on a piece of paper or a word document. Plus, that way I can keep it close while I'm writing.
So, that's all for this week. Sorry it's a little short (again) but I went to a craft show today and I'm exhausted.
Peace and cookies,
Laina
I'm about to start (re)plotting SPY CHICK and it's driving me crazy. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO COME UP WITH A PLOT!!! But now I have to and I'm using post-its and whatnot, but it's still pretty impossible.
ReplyDeleteGAH.
So this post fits in perfectly with my life right now.
Jordyn, try thinking about what your MC wants more than anything in the world, and then think of everything that can get in the way of that.
ReplyDeleteI keep going back to that index cards post, too. I love cards. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, one thing that's helped me a lot with plotting lately is John Truby's Anatomy of Story. When you look at the structure he talks about, and apply your own creative twists along with the uniqueness of your characters, story, etc., it comes together really organically. Some of his stuff is a little confusing but it's worth reading through. Def. check that book out from the library and see what you think!
I love index cards! I totally use them in different ways than this, so this is awesome to see other processes.
ReplyDelete