I just finished a chapter that, of all the ones Ive outlined so far, is easily the most ridiculous. Perhaps its because, until recently, everything in the story has been as "normal" as plot goes in this particular setting. But man, I cant help but feel I went a bit over the top with this.
I dont know, it could be a good thing. Im going to leave it in the outline and see how it presents itself in rough draft form. I cant help but feel, though, that Im going to have to cut it. Or, at any rate, give it a real good scrubbing. The chapter does serve a purpose, and I do need something that works similarly to what goes on here, but Im not sure if the idea I chose suits the realism Ive been shooting for. But then again, maybe it does? Maybe its so crazy that it just might work? At any rate, I was able to round off the chapter with some intentional symbolism that I think works very well with one of the themes/messages this story conveys.
Im a little nervous that Im starting to lose sight of where I was going with the ending. I know how it ends, and I know which direction to go for the next few chapters, but theres a gap inbetween that Im drawing a blank on. Hopefully the next few chapters will shed light on where Im supposed to go from here.
Chapters Outlined: 12
Rough Word Count: 13,659
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Reciting the Airships
The past week has seen my outline finally cross into Act 2 territory. The plot has opened up and a bunch of different characters are now screaming at me for their turn in the limelight, and still others are showing up to the party hoping to get through the door.
The belly of the beast.
In a way its like Ive restarted, because the plot has shifted focus from the main character to a larger conflict. The difference is that at this point, the characters that have already been introduced are now moving around with three-dimensional personalities. Rather than being character-building, the chapters are now character-driven. Plot-driven, too, but the characters are starting to uncover themselves, driving the story forward in ways I hadnt thought of.
Before starting this outline, I was scared I wouldnt be able to write a 50k word novel. With all of the ideas that keep flooding onto my screen, Im beginning to think I may cross that finish line two times over.
The next couple weeks are going to be slightly tougher than recent ones. Im going to have to climb the Act 2 ladder until I reach the top and can slide back down to the start of Act 3 (the Final Act). But its going to be fun! Act 1 was the hardest. Act 3 should be the easiest, since its the last push to a complete outline. But Act 2, I think, is the most important. Its what keeps your interest past the initial "wow" factor of Act 1, and its what makes the outcome of Act 3 so impactful.
Chapters Outlined: 11, 12th one started
Rough Word Count: 12,697
The belly of the beast.
In a way its like Ive restarted, because the plot has shifted focus from the main character to a larger conflict. The difference is that at this point, the characters that have already been introduced are now moving around with three-dimensional personalities. Rather than being character-building, the chapters are now character-driven. Plot-driven, too, but the characters are starting to uncover themselves, driving the story forward in ways I hadnt thought of.
Before starting this outline, I was scared I wouldnt be able to write a 50k word novel. With all of the ideas that keep flooding onto my screen, Im beginning to think I may cross that finish line two times over.
The next couple weeks are going to be slightly tougher than recent ones. Im going to have to climb the Act 2 ladder until I reach the top and can slide back down to the start of Act 3 (the Final Act). But its going to be fun! Act 1 was the hardest. Act 3 should be the easiest, since its the last push to a complete outline. But Act 2, I think, is the most important. Its what keeps your interest past the initial "wow" factor of Act 1, and its what makes the outcome of Act 3 so impactful.
Chapters Outlined: 11, 12th one started
Rough Word Count: 12,697
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
What Fell Down From The Moon Last Night
Plot twists. One big one fell into my lap today, and then the mother of all plot twists hit me like a truck this evening. This changes everything. Everything Ive thought up so far has been set on its ear. At some point in a future novel, something will be revealed that will make everyone reread this first novel in a new light. And not just a generic "Ooooh, it was really just this the whole time." Various scenes will be seen differently. Oh man, I'm so excited!
In addition to the plot twists, some new character relationships have sprung up with potential to be the most epic relationships in the entire series. Oh maaaaaaaaaaaan! Blank and Blank are going to have the most badass relationship in the history of the universe.
The further I get into this outline, the more and more this has all been coming to life. In fact, I had my first dream about my story the other night, pretending I was one of the characters. It was an amazing experience. I hope there will be many more like it.
I need to try and not post as many of these "OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME" posts, but Im bubbling over with excitement tonight. I cant wait for November to get here.
In addition to the plot twists, some new character relationships have sprung up with potential to be the most epic relationships in the entire series. Oh maaaaaaaaaaaan! Blank and Blank are going to have the most badass relationship in the history of the universe.
The further I get into this outline, the more and more this has all been coming to life. In fact, I had my first dream about my story the other night, pretending I was one of the characters. It was an amazing experience. I hope there will be many more like it.
I need to try and not post as many of these "OH MY GOD THIS IS AWESOME" posts, but Im bubbling over with excitement tonight. I cant wait for November to get here.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Fleeting Beauty Of A Butterfly
Im now over 10K words. Thats 20% of a small novel. Wow.
After a brief hiatus, I went back to work tonight on the outline. I was able to further develop Elena's character, introducing her in a new chapter that takes place early on in the book. Short and sweet, but I now have a better idea of which direction to take with her. I learned something about her tonight that shocked me, but at the same time it made perfect sense and gels really well with what I'd already thought up for her. Its a great little twist that I think will melt some hearts. And faces.
Chapters Outlined: 10 (Includes Prologue)
Rough Word Count: 10,194
After a brief hiatus, I went back to work tonight on the outline. I was able to further develop Elena's character, introducing her in a new chapter that takes place early on in the book. Short and sweet, but I now have a better idea of which direction to take with her. I learned something about her tonight that shocked me, but at the same time it made perfect sense and gels really well with what I'd already thought up for her. Its a great little twist that I think will melt some hearts. And faces.
Chapters Outlined: 10 (Includes Prologue)
Rough Word Count: 10,194
Sunday, July 18, 2010
The Evil That Never Arrived
It amazes me how easily this can sometimes come together. What gets me even more is that it falls into place with perfect symbolism, even when I had no intention of writing it that way. Either I'm just lucky, or I've got destiny on my side.
I finally managed to bang out the outline of the first major plot twist, but had problems with the chapter as whole. Id been frustrated with the middle part, and this frustration caused me to dawdle around with the outline for a week before finally deciding to move on. I was trying to force some story to lengthen the chapter, but ultimately decided that I should let it be the length it needed to be, even if that meant short-changing a newly introduced character. I'm going to have to figure out somewhere else to grow her background. Either that, or on my second pass of the outline I hope to bring a fresh look and think up some stuff to put in the chapter to lengthen it naturally and solidify her as a character and not an archetype.
Speaking of archetypes, I realized that even though this is "the beginning" of the series, Im still going to have to think up some details of certain characters' pasts to make them a bit more three-dimensional. History. Why they are the way they are. Even if its just a few sentences, I need to provide something extra for readers to go on. The main characters wont be a problem because theyll be fleshed out over the course of the first novel, but the secondary characters are going to need some special loving until book two rolls around.
Anyway, now the book starts to get fun. The next chapter contains the first real action sequence, and from here on out it will be a wild roller coaster ride. Looking forward to it.
Chapters Outlined: 8 (Includes Prologue)
Rough Word Count: 8504
I finally managed to bang out the outline of the first major plot twist, but had problems with the chapter as whole. Id been frustrated with the middle part, and this frustration caused me to dawdle around with the outline for a week before finally deciding to move on. I was trying to force some story to lengthen the chapter, but ultimately decided that I should let it be the length it needed to be, even if that meant short-changing a newly introduced character. I'm going to have to figure out somewhere else to grow her background. Either that, or on my second pass of the outline I hope to bring a fresh look and think up some stuff to put in the chapter to lengthen it naturally and solidify her as a character and not an archetype.
Speaking of archetypes, I realized that even though this is "the beginning" of the series, Im still going to have to think up some details of certain characters' pasts to make them a bit more three-dimensional. History. Why they are the way they are. Even if its just a few sentences, I need to provide something extra for readers to go on. The main characters wont be a problem because theyll be fleshed out over the course of the first novel, but the secondary characters are going to need some special loving until book two rolls around.
Anyway, now the book starts to get fun. The next chapter contains the first real action sequence, and from here on out it will be a wild roller coaster ride. Looking forward to it.
Chapters Outlined: 8 (Includes Prologue)
Rough Word Count: 8504
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Quick thoughts
I didnt get much time to write tonight. Maybe fifteen minutes at most. But wow, I finally put to paper something that I have been curious about for such a long time. Its a topic I think many people will find interesting. I wish I could be more specific.
A few minutes ago this paragraph went into some slight detail, but after further thought I decided best not to go there. I'll hold all of my cards, even the small ones, until the novel is ready for publication.
I cannot wait. The ideas I have inside are just screaming to get out. I hope no one has already had them. As long as wizards and vampires continue to flood the story market I should be fine :)
A few minutes ago this paragraph went into some slight detail, but after further thought I decided best not to go there. I'll hold all of my cards, even the small ones, until the novel is ready for publication.
I cannot wait. The ideas I have inside are just screaming to get out. I hope no one has already had them. As long as wizards and vampires continue to flood the story market I should be fine :)
Saturday, July 10, 2010
An Afternoon Ahead
As I sit here outlining the chapter that ends in the first big plot twist, one that will surely make everyone go "WTF?!", possibly even to the point of quitting the book out of its insane randomness, my mind started wandering to things it shouldnt be. Things such as word count.
Ive never written a novel before, so I have no idea how long this will turn out to be. The goal for Nanowrimo is 50,000 words. I'd prefer at least 65,000 words. Average novel length I think gets up around 80,000 or more depending on the genre.
At the moment, though, Im not too worried about novel length. Rather, I was thinking more about the length of my outline. Again, having never written a novel, I have no idea if I can mathematically calculate an average length for my novel based on my outline. An amateur's guess is "double" the words, but it will likely be higher than that (I like to play it conservative). I just want to have an outline that is long enough to be transformed into a full novel.
So... the only thing I have to go by is my full outline for book five. I'd written it up in college, and from what I'd remembered of it, it was massive. Sitting here working on book one, I decided against better judgement to go back to the other outline to see how many words it was.
To my shock and amazement, the full outline was a paltry 10.5K words. Im less than 4K away from that mark and I still dont feel I've reached Act 2 yet. Im still in the beginning of the story. Granted, after the next couple chapters I'll be in the middle. But I just cant believe that the outline I'm working on now is going to trounce the other one a few times over.
Im not sure what that says about these outlines. Either Im getting way too detailed with my current one, or the other outline was garbage. Personally I'd like to think the other outline was very amateurish. That story needed a lot of molding, and thats why I ultimately jumped back in time four books to help flesh out the characters and story behind it all.
It will be years before I ever get back to book five, so for now I'm going to keep it out of my head. But I certainly am very excited to get in there and spruce it back up.
And that was what I was trying to articulate to myself by writing this. My excitement for rewriting the book five outline doesnt have to go unquenched. Once I finish the outline for book one, its going to get a rewrite. And then the book itself will get its first draft in November. There is nothing but exciting times ahead, and it starts with this afternoon.
Stop worrying about word count. Start worrying about what Elena/Aidan are going to do after their meeting gets cancelled. Then worry even more about their conversation after the plot twist occurs.
Ive never written a novel before, so I have no idea how long this will turn out to be. The goal for Nanowrimo is 50,000 words. I'd prefer at least 65,000 words. Average novel length I think gets up around 80,000 or more depending on the genre.
At the moment, though, Im not too worried about novel length. Rather, I was thinking more about the length of my outline. Again, having never written a novel, I have no idea if I can mathematically calculate an average length for my novel based on my outline. An amateur's guess is "double" the words, but it will likely be higher than that (I like to play it conservative). I just want to have an outline that is long enough to be transformed into a full novel.
So... the only thing I have to go by is my full outline for book five. I'd written it up in college, and from what I'd remembered of it, it was massive. Sitting here working on book one, I decided against better judgement to go back to the other outline to see how many words it was.
To my shock and amazement, the full outline was a paltry 10.5K words. Im less than 4K away from that mark and I still dont feel I've reached Act 2 yet. Im still in the beginning of the story. Granted, after the next couple chapters I'll be in the middle. But I just cant believe that the outline I'm working on now is going to trounce the other one a few times over.
Im not sure what that says about these outlines. Either Im getting way too detailed with my current one, or the other outline was garbage. Personally I'd like to think the other outline was very amateurish. That story needed a lot of molding, and thats why I ultimately jumped back in time four books to help flesh out the characters and story behind it all.
It will be years before I ever get back to book five, so for now I'm going to keep it out of my head. But I certainly am very excited to get in there and spruce it back up.
And that was what I was trying to articulate to myself by writing this. My excitement for rewriting the book five outline doesnt have to go unquenched. Once I finish the outline for book one, its going to get a rewrite. And then the book itself will get its first draft in November. There is nothing but exciting times ahead, and it starts with this afternoon.
Stop worrying about word count. Start worrying about what Elena/Aidan are going to do after their meeting gets cancelled. Then worry even more about their conversation after the plot twist occurs.
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