The magic of writing (& MORE HARRY POTTER)

Just a quick note to y'all today and then I'll share a great video that goes along with my last post. 

I don't know what it is about dealing with a daunting scene. The climatic scene of my WIP has been staring me down for some time now. I always thought I had it mapped out fairly well, but now that I'm there it's scares me to write it because I'm afraid that all I've been building towards for so long is going to fall flat. I have twists and bumps, but how do I know that what is in my head will work when it's written down on paper?

OUTLINE!

Following my own advice, even when I know it will work, is sometimes tough. Today I had to literally force myself to sit down and map out the climax. And boy am I glad I did. I feel so much better. My process for doing it was simple. I used a  '*' for the twists in this scene and a large dot for the places where everything goes wrong. The bumps in the road, I call them, where the MC thinks she has everything worked out and then something screws that up for her.

So, whenever I find a scene that is difficult for me, the best way to get over it, or around it, is just to WRITE.

And now for the good part:

Making Progress, or Outlining: Part 2

This is a picture I took!! I am so excited that I actually took something that looks remotely decent. This pic will end up somewhere on my husband's company website (so please do not copy unless with my permission. Thanks).

First off, I didn't want to make this post about me, or any post for that matter, but I hope my trials and errors will be beneficial to other starving artist/blooming authors.

I wanted to key you in to my progress with outlining before starting to crank out the MS. There are many reasons this is working great for me (like I have said before, outlining may not be for you, but for someone like me who likes to go off on tangents and then get totally caught up with a different story thread and then start talking about something completely different like the photoshoot I did last Saturday that was amazing BTW and the edits are going awesome...

Oh, you didn't want to hear about that?

Yeah...see what I mean?

So, if you are like me, then outlining has many plus'. (plusses? Trust me, just because you are a writer doesn't mean you always know how to spell. So don't feel bad all you defilers of spellings).

1. With outlining I get to 'speed' ahead to other parts of the book, sort of live each exciting moment quickly. Yes, usually I am pretty impatient to see the whole book realized that I may hurry too fast through certain scenes, wanting to get to the next part and then the next and so on. This way I can get excited about the scene I am in, not lose interest before jumping to the next and plan each before I forget what awesome ideas I had for later on. It alleviates temptation.
2. Planning ahead makes it easy to go back and put in another story thread or idea (as I think of them), or plot point that affects the latter part of the story without ruining anything I may have already written out, or re-writing a whole section of the book. (Trust me, it's a big ginormous bummer of a deal if you decide you want to change something even semi-drastically after writing half the darn book, and then going back and trying to figure out how in the world you are going to put something in with the least amount of damage to said already written MS. Can you say major  headspasms?)
3. I just like to make lists. =)

Another thing that helps after I have written my outline, is making a seperate list of things to watch out for or include in each chapter. For example, I have a character who doesn't realize what the world is like, she has been secluded her whole life, and in fact hasn't met single other human being other than her guardian for the almost 18 years she has been alive. (rotten, huh?) So, I want to make sure that I put in as many contrasting behaviors or ideas that I possible can to make this 'world' all the more real. I also want to be able to track the growth of each character in the book, especially my main character, among others.

One more great thing about this planning stage is that I am never left guessing while writing. I know exactly what each character thinks, how they act. I know what my world is about, every detail so that I don't have to think up stuff spur of the moment that may or may not fit in with the rest of the story. I can decide where something will be the most appropriate and get it in the right place as I am writing, not awkwardly patching it into the spot later when I think of it. For me right now, on this MS, I have also been able to push myself to the next level, make my villain become more incidious, come up with more ideas for him and the MC before typing anything, Up the anti in each scene.

If you have every taken notes on a movie this will help you with outlining/plotting. Or if you haven't, try it! I took the time the last several months to take notes during several movies, different kinds, and even a television series. In this I realized that the writers went back and forth between major drama and calmer moments. In this way the viewer doesn't get too over- or underwhelmed during the show. There's humor that breaks up the tension (in appropriate places...not say at the climatic points near the end), and several twists that occur where beginner writers may have been tempted (yea, I am talking about myself here) to just leave it be.

For example, in the movie, Ella Enchanted. In the begging I thought it was creative enough for Ella to be 'blessed' with a terrible gift that makes her do anything anyone asks her to do. That should be enough, right? Well, the writer thought it would be better to make Ella's situation even worse, and then even more terrible.

Ella's mother dies, leaving her without anyone (other than the house fairy that no one listens to) to be her champion, or support system. (Her dad obviously didn't know what was going on). And to add insult to injury, her dad remarries giving Ella a step mother and step sisters who want to abuse Ella after they find out what they can do to her. TOTALLY unfair for Ella, but totally worth reading/watching. You want to know how Ella is going to get by unscathed. And it also opens up several available plot tracks or ideas that one could take. Any number of bad things can now happen.

So, this is what we need to do: Make a scene wonderfully horrible for the MC, make the reader feel sorry for them and then up the stakes. (like how Ella meets the prince, but everyone is yelling at the screen because they think she is stupid for not liking him and then when she finally does like him she can't have him or even be near him because she is commanded to kill him...total dramafest!)

AND do it in an outline so you can keep adding to it until you feel that each and every scene is pumped to the appropraite limit of twistiness.

Dont you love twisty things? I do!

Yum!!

So, go make some twists of your own! And add lots of sprinkles for me, -k-?

I mean it, GO!! JK, you can hang out hear for a while, slobber over this yummy photo and then go back and stare dazedly at the wonderfully wonderful photo I took at the top, daydreaming about how wonderfully talented I am. Okay, that's a bit much, but you can druel. I'll let you.

Writing an Outline

So, I'm starting my new book. The old one is shelved and my new years resolutions include not making the same mistakes I did last time around so hopefully I won't feel like I'm patching up something unsalvagable later on. For one, I am making a very in depth outline. I am determined to be more organized and know every step of the way where my book is going. I know some people don't like to work that way, they love to go with the writerly flow of things, which is fun, but for me I need more structure. More purpose. At least this time around.

Here is what I have done so far, or will do, in order:

• Written a short SYNOPSIS. 
• Written my own BLURB (according to the theme I have chosen) 
• BRAINSTORM plot ideas (more than what my synop. held)
• Did CHARACTER PROFILES for each main and secondary character (including likes, dislikes, personality, past history, or whatever else I can think of that makes them unique, including naming them)
• Write out the OUTLINE in more depth. Each scene, what I want to accomplish with each, etc.
• START WRITING!!

Actually, I began writing the first chapter a few times before doing any of this because I had some idea of where I wanted it to begin, but as with all first-first chapters I knew I wouldn't be keeping it exactly the same and decided to dig into my real plan of organization. I am excited. I feel calmer knowing I have a plan and will feel better the more I work on this. There will be no guess work this time.

As with anything I will stop and write if inspiration hits for a certain scene, even if my outlining isn't finished. I believe this is always a good idea for writing. If you have a great idea, seize it! There is a chance you may not need it later, but there is also a greater chance that you will, especially when you are feeling that excited burning feeling about it. Better to write it down just in case then to lose it forever. I have a terrible memory and have proven to myself that I won't remember something brilliant, especially word for word, later if I wait to capture it.

I also keep a page open for writing down quotes (things I want my characters to say at whatever point of the book). These are fun to look back to and stick in when the conversation lulls.

Another helpful tip that I got from another writer, is number the pages of my notebook (if you are using a notebook) and then at the back or front somewhere write what each pages contains. That way you don't get frustrated looking through loads of notes, not remember where anything is. (And for those of you who are looking for a bargain, this is great: I wait until the school merchandise at Walmart goes on sale and grab all the 70 page notebooks I can get. One year they had them on sale for 5 cents each! And I got SEVERAL boxes of notebooks for just a few dollars!)

 Any other tips out there? I hope this was helpful. I am so excited about the new project and will keep you all posted on how this works out.