I doubt there's even anyone reading here anymore because my blogging has been so sporadic. While school's in session, I keep up my class blog daily but my writing mind is more focused on getting my daily words done than on blogging. It is probably something I should do to keep in a conscious writing state though.
As I write that, I'm thinking of all the craft books sitting on my shelves. I'd love to have a group of people work through some of them together - but that's probably a tad ambitious for a blogger who has no following. ;)
Anyway, since we're on break this week and I've had time to dedicate to writing (when the Olympics weren't distracting me), I've been thinking about a new story. I've got one I'm working on, but I'm the kind of writer who needs to let things marinate before I'm ready to write so I'm thinking ahead to the next project.
Right now my process reminds me a little bit of choosing off the old Chinese menus. I've got a bunch of scenes and ideas swirling in my head and I'm trying to cull out what belongs together and decide what is really a different story. So I'm taking a character from Column A and examining the choices in Column B. What works together? What feels right - or wrong? Looking to Column C for the conflict - so many choices but which one will complement the previous selections?
Enough of the Chinese menus. I'm only getting hungry. Maybe I need to pull out a different analogy and just go play with my characters.
So while we're off exploring, if anyone happens to stop by, please share your processes for beginning a new story.
I dive in. Head first. Sometimes--most of the time--it bites me in the butt, so I stop and plot from there.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting--new project! Nothing like it!
Hi, MJ. That's always been me too - just dive in. If I plot too far in advance I get bored.
ReplyDeleteLately though I've been doing something different. It's kind of hard to describe but it's kind of a mix between playing What If and writing scenes. I just sort of go along telling myself the story but then something captures me and I start writing down the dialogue and it evolves into a scene. So now what I have is a collection of scenes loosely connected by my thoughts.
I'll have to see how this works.
I'll be interested to see how that method works. I think it would make me nervous.
ReplyDeleteIt worked REALLY well! At least this time. I came up with some great ideas and got really excited about the story.
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