I outline, barely, what I need to do when I write. \u00a0I just started to outline with these past two novels. \u00a0Normally I’m a total pantser, and I write whatever the muse tells me to do.<\/p>\n
So I did a very general outline when I first started War Mage<\/em>. \u00a0It was like “Meets dragons”, “Black Lions”, “Meets <Ware>”. \u00a0Then I go off and write.<\/p>\n It seems, sometimes, that the characters do their own thing. \u00a0Okay, I let them, figuring that’s what rewriting is for.<\/p>\n I’m deep in the middle of the first draft, transcribing it as I’m going along. \u00a0Already one entire scene appeared out of nowhere (because I wasn’t utilizing a character enough) into the second draft, and a huge scene that I wrote in one 2-hour stretch\u00a0disappeared. \u00a0I’m not sure if I’ll use that scene or not. Ever.<\/p>\n Today,\u00a0I listened\u00a0to a podcast that I won’t listen to anymore because the hostess takes over the entire conversation for blocks of minutes leaving her guests to say, “Oh, that’s nice.” \u00a0 The hostess, of course, said that nobody makes their characters grow<\/em> in romance fiction anymore. \u00a0And that got me to thinking, did I make Brent grow at all? \u00a0Because right now, War Mage\u00a0<\/em>reads like a series of vignettes, a bunch of scenes, where he’s reporting on what’s happening but we don’t get what he thinks. \u00a0Hell, half of the people he talks to have no names.<\/p>\n Like the scene I wrote last night – it’s total reporting of what happened. \u00a0No inner dialogue, no reaction on his part. \u00a0And it was supposed to be a powerful scene.<\/p>\n This is what I’m deathly afraid of. \u00a0I’ve made a two-dimensional main character.<\/p>\n So once I transcribe the first\/second draft, I’ll try to make him grow.<\/p>\n But in the meantime, my outline is getting too short. \u00a0What does this mean?<\/p>\n I have to brainstorm. \u00a0This is where index cards come in handy. \u00a0Because I’m a character-driven writer, I start stories with characters, not plot (sometimes I have a Point A to Point B story, and nothing in between).<\/p>\n I’m going to try this: \u00a0I’ll get\u00a0some index cards and write a backstory, quick and dirty. \u00a0Name, age, where they’re from, what branch\/division\/company they’re in, physical description. \u00a0How they interacted with MC. \u00a0I should have a nice healthy stack.<\/p>\n Then I’ll pull one out. \u00a0Would this character show up again? \u00a0If so, how? \u00a0What would he do next with Brent?<\/p>\n If nothing comes to mind, I have some writing prompt books and a couple of characterization books to help me through.<\/p>\n Plot will find its way out then.<\/p>\n Oh, by the way, I’m up to 23K words. \u00a0I do have a bare bones of a plot, but, like I said, the outline is getting too short and there’s no end in sight.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I outline, barely, what I need to do when I write. \u00a0I just started to outline with these past two novels. \u00a0Normally I’m a total pantser, and I write whatever the muse tells me to do. So I did a … Continue reading