Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Life Happens


I'm still plugging away at The Curse of the Blood Stone, but I was sidetracked big time when my mother broke her hip and ended up in the hospital. Needless to say, the whole episode changed my priorities and diverted my energy. I'm beginning to get back on track with the novel and approaching Plot Point I, the scene that will kick off the real action of the novel.

Which brings me to the oft-debated Outline. As I've mentioned before, I'm using Larry Brooks' "Six Core Competencies" and Randy Ingermanson's "Snowflake Method" to guide my development of the characters and story arc. This resulted in 8 pages of sketched scenes. Basically, an outline.

Some writers claim an outline is too restrictive. They want to discover the story organically. For them, an outline restricts creativity. Other writers construct long, detailed outlines nearly as long as the finished novel. And there are many writers that approach novel writing somewhere between these two extremes.

All I can say is -- without my scene list, I wouldn't have the foggiest idea where I left off the story when "life happened." Whether it's a serious event, like my mother's surgery and recovery, or minor interruptions to the writing schedule -- I don't know how others do it without some sort of outline.

So, place me in the outlining camp. Rather than restrictive, I find my scene sketch freeing. I have added and deleted scenes as the novel progressed. I have deviated from the original concept for the scene. Yet, like a bookmark, the outline has helped me find the place where I left off writing. It has launched me into the next scene immediately on returning to the novel in progress. Works for me!




3 comments:

Chelsie said...

Very interesting. I've been thinking of trying my hand at writing; I have a few stories in the back of my mind. Although I have yet to find decent time to do so. Good luck with your story, and I hope your mom heals quickly!

Cjay said...

I'm currently in the process of writing a second draft of my story (also a YA fantasy :)) I've never actually written down an outline for my story but by the time I started writing the first draft, I had almost every single scene planned out in my head. It was the first time I had done so and I found it made such a big difference. I wasn't aimlessly writing, a had a goal I wanted to reach, certain scenes I was dying to write and so I kept writing so that I would get to them.

I just wanted to say that I really love your blog and after catching up on it, I've picked up some very helpful tips on writing! My prayers are with you and I hope your mother heals quickly!

Unknown said...

Life is like a novel, you keep shifting from scene to scene when the author decides, not when you do. Maybe I need an outline for my life.....no, wait. Isnt that my ToDo list? Crap.