Day three and I've already started over with Blind Fury. It's okay because I'd only written 1600 words, and I'm up to 1800 new ones now, but still. I realized early on that the GMC I had before wasn't working, and neither was the setting. Sometimes it can take me a while to admit that the cool opening scene, or the interesting career, just isn't the best choice for the story.
I probably started writing before I was really ready. But, on the other hand, the act of writing helps me find my weaknesses, and gets me thinking ahead.
One of the reasons I struggle with pre-planning may actually tie back to my logical, linear brain–as illogical as that may sound. Let me explain.
What I've noticed is that I write very linearly: first this, then that, like a chain. That is, I write a scene, and then decide what the next scene should be, based on what just happened. The creative juices required to come up with the next scene require the platform of the previous one to jump from.
Does that make sense?
So, until I've really fleshed out a whole scene, complete with unexpected twists and revelations that came about in the heat of writing, I can't write the next one. So how could I possibly plan via a thorough outline ahead of time?
No, I'm not abandoning the pre-planning phase. If anything, I've realized that I have to test my characters' GMC more carefully. Not only do they need strong, story-worthy goals, motivation, and conflict, but ideally, the hero and heroines goals with conflict with each other.
This is why writing romance is tricky, especially romantic suspense. Not only must the villain's goals conflict with the H/H, but the H/H's goals must be at odds with each other. Otherwise there's nothing to write about.
Yes, all of you smart people knew that already. In theory, so did I. Still, I often get an interesting concept stuck in my head, try to populate it with characters, and then realize the GMC's just not strong or interesting enough.
At least this time I didn't start over after writing 20,000 words. Hopefully, I can avoid that again. I made sure that Blind Fury has at least a tentative outline including the inciting incidents for H/H, 1st turning point, midpoint shift, 2nd turning point, black moment, climax, resolution.
If I get to those points and they're wrong, I'll fix them. But for now, I've got a compelling reason to take the drive, and a few destinations along the way to guide me.
Now to get crackin' on that WIP…
Christine
Gwen Hernandez
Curtis
Gwen Hernandez
Curtis
Kathleen Wall
Gwen Hernandez
Gwen Hernandez