Thursday, October 18, 2012

A Case of Mistaken Identity

So, I'm a little over 27,000 words into my WIP. For the previous eight months I'd struggled to revise a novel that just wouldn't come together. No matter how many times I took the scenes apart and put them back together, it just wouldn't work. So, I finally took a deep breath, shelved it, and started on my current one.

Previously, I  would outlined my novels to death before I began them, thinking that I had to know every little detail of my characters and their world. I was terrifed to start without some sort of map in case I messed up. To me, it seemed that writing a novel without plotting it first, was kind of like driving from Ohio to Texas without a map. I would probably end up in Texas, but knowing me I'd take a detour through New York, Florida and Mississippi also. Not the best way to go about a road trip.

Then one day it hit me. I don't HAVE to know every single scene that is going to happen. And it turns out, I was right. I no longer freak out about not knowing what is going to happen next. Well, maybe a little sometimes. :) But for the most part, I'm happy with how the writing's going.

2 comments:

  1. I struggle every time I write a novel to get the right feel. I never know if I'm going to plot it out or just fly by the seat of my pants! I also never know where I'm going to get stuck! It's such a battle! I'm glad to see you're getting something that works for you!!!

    Unedited has love for ya...

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    Replies
    1. It's nice to know I'm not the only one this happens to. :)

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