Anne Martin
bathed in subliminal luminosity
- Joined
- Mar 30, 2011
- Messages
- 367
Saying that I write from beginning to end doesn't mean I write from beginning to end or on the seat of my pants. My writing starts situationally. For example, what if a writer goes to his summer retreat, is inspired by a girl there (who he believes is an angel incarnate), and everything he writes comes true? That doesn't inherently generate a plot, but it does ask questions that could. Is he dying? Will he use his writing to advance his interests? Why is this angel interested in him? Does he fall in love with her?
I write the situation, then I reevaluate, ask the questions, and sketch in my mind a plot - a reason for the story to happen, and/or an explanation for the situation. The big question here is why it happened, when, and how it will resolve itself? You start with a problem and you look for a solution to it. That is your plot. It might spring sub-plots along the way - not too many or you might confuse your reader.
While I write, I am constantly thinking ahead to answer these questions, and when I have answers, I may skip ahead to write/sketch that section. So, in my main writing file, I have the narrative (sometimes preceded by notes), then I have notes as to some pitfalls or events along the way (often in blue or red), and when I have decided on my ending, I write that. When I serialize chapters, I am usually way ahead in my writing file than what I'm posting, usually far enough that I know that I'm not going to go back and change (significantly) what I have written before, at least as far as the plot is concerned.
If I have a lot of characters, I will have a second file, listing them with basic character traits (my name/place file). In a couple of stories, I invent a language (or part of one), so I might have the rules of the language. In The Cult of Hahn, I quote a "bible" from the medieval fantasy London, which I have written in a separate file, which is about 3500 words long. I may write more of it, but that is a big ask, involving several writing styles of both prose and poetry.
In my current novel, the fact that I don't know the actual ending of the book yet isn't significant (even at 89,000 words). I know that it will take several books to resolve my plot, but it is really just a matter of choosing which event will resolve this particular book sufficiently, and leave a hook for the next one. I think I know what the hook is, and I have a choice of 3 plot lines to resolve to finish this one.
I write the situation, then I reevaluate, ask the questions, and sketch in my mind a plot - a reason for the story to happen, and/or an explanation for the situation. The big question here is why it happened, when, and how it will resolve itself? You start with a problem and you look for a solution to it. That is your plot. It might spring sub-plots along the way - not too many or you might confuse your reader.
While I write, I am constantly thinking ahead to answer these questions, and when I have answers, I may skip ahead to write/sketch that section. So, in my main writing file, I have the narrative (sometimes preceded by notes), then I have notes as to some pitfalls or events along the way (often in blue or red), and when I have decided on my ending, I write that. When I serialize chapters, I am usually way ahead in my writing file than what I'm posting, usually far enough that I know that I'm not going to go back and change (significantly) what I have written before, at least as far as the plot is concerned.
If I have a lot of characters, I will have a second file, listing them with basic character traits (my name/place file). In a couple of stories, I invent a language (or part of one), so I might have the rules of the language. In The Cult of Hahn, I quote a "bible" from the medieval fantasy London, which I have written in a separate file, which is about 3500 words long. I may write more of it, but that is a big ask, involving several writing styles of both prose and poetry.
In my current novel, the fact that I don't know the actual ending of the book yet isn't significant (even at 89,000 words). I know that it will take several books to resolve my plot, but it is really just a matter of choosing which event will resolve this particular book sufficiently, and leave a hook for the next one. I think I know what the hook is, and I have a choice of 3 plot lines to resolve to finish this one.
