Friday, July 9, 2010

Pausing to Plot

Monday and Tuesday were pants days. I sat and wrote whatever came to mind--exploring this shiny new idea and getting to know the characters. There are conversations with very little tags, or action to break it up. There are sections of inner dialogue that will get cut later, but there was enough stuff in my head to start me asking questions and fall in love with the kernel of idea.

Wednesday I stopped writing and started researching some of my questions. I guess this is how I start plotting. I need to know certain things before I can decide what's going to happen. I need to find the back story so I have everyone's motivation for what they do, what they want. During this gathering of information I started collecting quotes as well. Maybe each chapter will start with a well known quote on faeries. Yes, my new shiny idea has faeries.
I'm slightly intimidated because I don't read about faeries very often. Hopefully, that won't matter since I want to have a very non-traditional slant on the whole faerie idea. I've narrowed it down to two possibilities. This decision has me at a dead stop for the moment because it will determine how everything unfolds from this point forward.

I wish I could share them with you and have you vote--you are all so helpful. However, I'm still in that very private, possessive stage of the idea as well. What if it is a really good idea and someone can write faster than me? Yeah, I know the story would still be different, but we have to keep some of our paranoia.  OH! Just know it isn't my dear followers that I don't trust. I know that in the interest of community you would try not to use my idea. It's the random millions of people that could drop by that I'm leery of.
So here's my progress report:

SENDEK--finished for the moment and with my Beta readers. (I need to revise the ending). Rough summary finished, waiting to be polished. I have a query, but it still needs a bit of work. I have a list of about 15 agents to start querying and still searching.

Oreck--(Sequel to Sendek) Outlined, theme song chosen

Shiny New Idea--4,312 words written, trying to make the crucial motivation question.

7 comments:

  1. Hi,

    Just wanted to say I love your blog. I'm a new author and I'm quickly realizing that I love having this new creative outlet. Thanks for you post. I'm now a follower her and I will be back for updates.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Research is one of my fav things about writing. I have to stop myself sometimes or I'd get lost in it! =D

    I have a couple of awards for you over on my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I agree with keeping things quiet.
    ps way to go on the progress!!! =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Congrats on that forward momentum!! For me, I pants my way through some scenes, which always generate new plot elements for future passages. LOVE that part of the process!! Great post :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Congrats on the momentum, definitely a great thing, loved your post!
    Can't wait to read the finished story :)

    You have an award on my blog (sure, only if you want to join in) :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm generally a pants writer which is how I'm able to come up with so many short stories to post to my blog. Now that I'm writing a novel, I'm realizing the importance of taking that time to pause and plot. I was just thinking today of getting a notebook to start keeping track of all my thoughts. Good luck with your querying!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.