Photo by RF._.studio on Pexels
I was just reading through the first fifty pages of my very first novel before sending out yet another agent query. As I was reading through it, I was happy with my story and the plot. During my revisions, I saw things I had subconsciously added that became proper foreshadowing as I fleshed them out in subsequent edits.
Way back in January, I happily wrote about pantsing and writing without reins. There was a wild creativity that I was able to tap into without a road map, without an outline. Each day, as I sat down with my characters, I would start to type, and the characters would quickly take over and start moving about my scenes of their own volition. They took unexpected paths and even opened portals to new spaces that I had not even imagined when I first started writing the book.
It was exhilarating, and that energy propelled me through the first drafts and subsequent revisions. And when I finished the book and started querying, I felt a marvelous sense of accomplishment.
And, of course, the waiting game began as I entered the querying trenches. There is a deluge of writing advice on social media, and I’ll probably write a blog post about that someday, but so much advice about querying mentioned getting started on your next book to help deal with the long days of waiting.
I figured, I’d gotten over the hump of writing my first book, how hard could writing the second book be, right?
Oh, I was so very wrong. I had a solid idea for the book (it explores the relationship between two sisters that hate each other, but eventually go through a journey of loss and tragedy before rediscovering each other), but I kept stumbling as I started those first few pages.
I was having a hard time with POV. Would it be from both sister’s POV? First person, swapping each time? Maybe third person limited?
I had an idea for the premise, but the story just wasn’t flowing, especially because I couldn’t figure out who my main character was.
So, I did what I always do when I’m stumped. I read. I purchased two books, Outlining Your Novel and Outlining Your Novel Workbook by K.M. Weiland.
I’ve decided that I will spend a lot of time outlining and plotting this second book, if only to see the difference between the two methods (pantsing/plotting).
A lot of people will say that outlining can be constraining on their creativity, but I have already found a lot of ways, prompted by both books, to brainstorm the framework for my story. I’ve thought deeply about the premise, about the what ifs, and about what is expected (and not expected) for my story.
This method is already allowing me to think creatively about the full world and backstory for my characters, and it has allowed me to see that I was having such a problem at the beginning because I hadn’t yet picked a main character. While I have been doing this exercise, I have seen that only one of the sister’s in my story is going to be the main POV character.
It is a lot of work upfront before I get to actually writing that first draft, but it has allowed me to get out of my story slump, and I can see the bones of a really good story coming together. I’m happy with this method so far, and I will keep you all updated as I make more progress on my second novel (I can’t believe I just typed that!).
Comentários