The Ledge
I've been living on a ledge since last Tuesday. Last Tuesday when this guy said it was "time" for my wip to start barreling toward the main crisis. I've been dancing around characters and scenes . . . but it's time. And me? I was freaking out.
Of course, he told me . . . "E . . . this is when you ALWAYS freak out." Hmm . . . nice to have writer friends who know you THAT well. YES, yes, yes, this is when I wonder, "Do I even HAVE a book? Is there enough there? Do I even know for sure how to pull all the threads together?"
So Saturday, I started at the beginning. And happily, I can report, there is a book there. A dystopic novel of a tragic love story. And I also sat down and wrote out a time line. I essentially, in scribbled notes of intersecting lines, wrote out the six months from the moment my characters are at now to the end of the book, month by month. No, it's not an outline. It looks more like a picture, or a mind map. But for me, it's a piece of paper that shows me, yes, there is a beginning, I AM in the middle, and there is the end. Right there.
Sometimes, as writers, we need tangible help. Something that tells us we are headed somewhere. Something real that shows us we know what we're doing.
I have officially climbed back inside. I'm no longer on the ledge. How about you? Do you need tangible signs your novel is going to be okay? And what do you do when you are on the ledge?
26 comments:
Sometimes I do need a tangible thing. I have 2 or 3 different methods I've used. Now, I don't outline. So...
1. About halfway or 2/3 of the way thru the book I write an outline, basically a sentence for each scene to-date, and then just a list of scenes and plot points I see until the end.
2. Sometimes I've written a kind of diagram with the main character in the middle and I write the names of all the characters around him and then connect the various characters with lines, so I can see the relationships. That's often very useful (and sort of cool to look at, too).
3. And yes, sometimes timelines.
Actually sitting down to write a book has been something of a revelation to me. I had the idea, and knew about five or six significant plot details that were important... but I didn't create an outline. I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to write the book for a few years, if at all.
I just sit down each day and write. And even though I thought that authors were full of it when they described a character or project as taking on a life of its own, that seems to be what's happening.
One sentence follows another, and suddenly I'm off in a direction that I hadn't intended, and it seems to be holding together (thanks to judicious editing by Kristina).
It almost feels wrong to be enjoying it so much. I hope that I can find a way to keep doing it — even if I will sometimes find myself standing on The Ledge.
I feel like I'm perpetually on the ledge, and to avoid falling off I keep going back to safety (the beginning) rather than continuing on the journey. Thanks for the reminder that I need to push forward.
I've done all the stuff Mark's done, but now I'm storyboarding. I used posterboard draw into 4 acts with the center firmly noted, and stickies with scenes, character info, and goals. I'm finding it really helpful. I'm also doing it ahead now, which lets me organize notes on future projects while keeping my brain firmly engaged on the current one.
This week I'm going back through SCAR, after a break, to "pump up" each scene.
I also have a notebook and I cut out pictures and take notes. It's a mess and I rarely look at it again, but it helps me have a place to keep those errant thoughts.
Love that picture.
Hi Mark . . .
Your #2 is a lot like what I do.
E
Richard:
My books definitely have a life of their own, and that, I have to say, is one of my favorite parts about writing.
Melody:
I can "see" that in you--and me. My safety areas are my little scenes. :-)
Starbucks:
My stuff is also messy. Sometimes I also find pictures and occasionally look at them in my files to remind me that my characters are flesh and blood somehow.
You mean there's a way off the ledge? I thought that was just a perpetual state of being if you're a writer :-)
I'm still very much on the ledge ...
But I'm excited to see where your book is heading.
Unless I throw myself under a bus first.
I'm starting to think the reason I prefer writing poetry over novels is because it's right there in its entirety, all on one page. BUT, when I am attempting work on the WIP. I follow the organic trail. Meandering? Yes. Am I published? No. Next question... :-)
I'm so panicking on the ledge right now. I NEVER start without a beginning, but a beginning isn't happening, so I'm starting with the scenes in my head. I hate that. I've never written that way before!
I'm an after-the-fact outliner, too. I usually paste everything into Mindola SuperNotecard so I can see it all organized. Since my brain never is.
Merry:
Come in from the ledge, darlin'. ;-)
Lurker:
I sketched it all out. I am psyched.
E
Kath:
We shall move on. ;-)
I have yet to find a method that works for me... *jots down all the great ideas represented*
Natasha:
One of the absolute COOLEST things about knowing you is that you know every technological gadget for writers--storyboards and visuals and journaling devices and blogs. All of it. I knew you would have something tangible you used--or many tools!
E
Ewoh:
Sometimes what works for me changes with each book.
E
I don't want to crawl in off the ledge, because it means that I have to start the next round of revisions. Can't I huddle out here a little longer??? :)
Rather than worry if my WIP is any good while I'm writing the first draft, I know for a fact that it's crappy (ALL my first drafts are crappy). I just tell myself it will all be okay in the end. If it turns out I'm wrong, and I can't fix it, I can always jump off the ledge then.
Stuck on the ledge?
Make sure you have a HUGE supply of alcoholic beverage/s and a generous supply of unhealthy and extremely calorific snacks to keep you company.
Then, if it's necessary to jump, your paralytic state of mind and body will deaden the pain.
CONGRATS to book winner! I'm going to bleach my hair blonde...
I seem to be cemented to the ledge.
I'm excited for you that you can see the light at the end of the novel process.
(good luck tomorrow)
Heather:
Nope . . . come on inside. ;-)
Alan:
The Plow-Through plan! :-)
Ann Marie:
When stuck on the ledge, supplies are wonderful. :-)
Melanie:
Gracias.
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