Janice Hardy published an interesting blog post about plot and story not being alined in our book. Thanks a lot for that article, Janice.
The plot illustrates the story, but sometimes, it has a mind of its own and takes your novel in the wrong direction.
It’s a common enough tale. You’re writing away, listening to your characters and letting them run the show. They’re diverting a little from your outline, but that’s okay because where they’re going is good stuff. Or maybe you’re the kind of writer who doesn’t have an outline, and you’re enjoying this unexpected path your characters have taken.
And they keep doing it.
And doing it.
And doing it.
You follow because the plot is moving and it seems like a good idea, and the words are coming fast and furious. You’re getting a huge amount of writing done. You’re feeling so productive!
I’m currently drafting book 7 in ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series. It is quite some work. By a list of blog post ideas, I felt challenged to publish a mood board of my work in progress, using 9 pictures. It took me forever to decide what the most important parts of the plot are and how to express them. Then I had to pick the images and, of course, spend another few hours to choose the ones I think express best the feelings of the story.
Today we’re going to chat about log-lines. Some of you might be wondering if I was trying to give you a heart attack with my title. Maybe you think this feat is impossible. AN ENTIRE NOVEL IN ONLY ONE SENTENCE?
Maybe something simple, plebeian and commercially formulaic *flips hair* but ART cannot be forced into a box.
Yes. Yes it can.
I know, I know. Your novel is over four-hundred pages with made up technology and wizards and folding space using enchanted Thigh Masters….
Neil Gaiman is right. Writing is easy – and it’s hard.
We writers have a story in our head, and we want it written. That’s what we love doing; the book is what we want to accomplish.
But there is so much more. The characters, the plot, the genre, the word count, the editing, the cover, the formatting, the copyright, the beta reading, the hope and the fears.
Many of us, I figure, have the same fears that I have: Is the story as good as I hope it will be? Could I have done better? What does the reader want? What do the readers say? How are the reviews going to be? Is the book the way I wanted it to be? Are my characters the way I imagined them? There are so many more questions my fear, right now, won’t release.
In many ways, our passion is easy: just a keyboard (or a piece of paper and a pen), and we’re on it. But still, it is hard work. Do we think about everything we learned? Is the story the way we had it in our head?
And the writing is only one part. The ones of us who planned to go the self-publishing way, our work only start started with the publishing date. The networking, the marketing, getting the word and the book out there.
I think I’m not the only one who would love to write, just write and write and write… but then, I want my stories to be read too. And when it comes to that, I need to get all this work done.
That’s the hard part for me. (Apart of all fears and nightmares, of course).
So, yes. Neil Gaiman is right. Writing is easy – and it’s hard.
Picture courtesy of: Wikipedia.com
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman, (born Neil Richard Gaiman 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and films.
His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals.
He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, The Graveyard Book (2008). In 2013, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards. (Source: Wikipedia)
It’s back to school for everyone – not just kids. Vacation’s over. Fun’s over…or maybe the fun is just beginning.
This fall, W.A.N.A. is back with new classes, new instructors, and lots of exciting announcements coming up. Bookmark W.A.N.A. and make sure to subscribe to my blog to stay up-to-date with all the news!
Don’t forget to hop on over to the W.A.N.A. Tribe to join in our daily writing sprints in the chat room! The Tribe is a thriving community, and we are planning on some awesome upgrades to the entire Tribe experience this fall.
NEW CLASSES FOR SEPTEMBER 2017 – (click the link for the classes)
This is an eye opening article, written by Steven Capps. It is quite controversy to what many think. But I guarantee, read the post, and it will make you think. thank you Steven.
I know that this is an unpopular opinion. Truthfully, there are countless people who are smarter and more successful than I am, who believe the exact opposite. Up until a few days ago, I believed that of all the elements of a story the concept of character was, by far, the most integral element of a narrative. I am not saying that it is unimportant, but rather the idea of conflict has more power in creating a compelling narrative. It drives tension, creates depth, and is pervasive in every element of skilled storytelling. To kick off this discussion, I want to present my view of character.
Character: The Lens of the Reader
Characters are representations of people who have a role in a story. I argue that in order to qualify as a character, the person depicted actually has to engage in some sort of activity relevant to the Point of View…
Kristen Lamb, excellent writer and teacher has created a blog post which is not only entertaining, but teaching a very interesting and important lesson about the creation of characters.
Today, we’re going to explore an extension of the WOUND. The BLIND SPOT. There are no perfect personalities. All great character traits possess a blind spot. The loyal person is a wonderful friend, but can be naive and taken advantage of.
The take-charge Alpha leader can make a team successful, but also inadvertently tromp over feelings or even fail to realize that others have great ideas, too. Maybe even BETTER ideas.
A super caring, nurturing personality can be an enabler or maybe even ignore close relationships to take care of strangers. Someone who is great with money can end up a miser. A person with a fantastic work ethic can become a workaholic.
Y’all get the gist.
Often the antagonist (Big Boss Troublemaker) is a mirror of the protagonist, especially in the beginning of the story.
To use an example from a movie we have likely all seen. In Top…
ur novel in the wrong direction.
Today we’re going to chat about log-lines. Some of you might be wondering if I was trying to give you a heart attack with my title. Maybe you think this feat is impossible. AN ENTIRE NOVEL IN ONLY ONE SENTENCE?
