I've been reading through Hallie Ephron's book "Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel". I've heard wonderful and not so wonderful things about this book. Me, I'm middle of the road about it.
Most of the writing advice covers the same ground every book on writing does. And truth be told, there's really nothing new to teach, just new ways to explain it. What I like about this book is everything is broken down and I mean everything. Not sure about chapters, it's in there. Don't know how to plot, it's there. Everything from planning to selling is broken down so even an idiot like me can follow the bread crumbs to the end.
The only problem I can see with all this planning and outlining and character sketches is, will you lose the magic? You know, that tiny little unplanned sentence, or that stupid character that came out of nowhere to trip up your protagonist by leading him on a wild goose chase.
Like the story I was working on today. My bounty hunter is tracking down a man when all of a sudden she says, "He saved my life, I owe him one." Okaaay, now where is this story going? I had this whole hunt down the bad guy scenario shaping up in my head, knew exactly where I was going and bam. Those are the magic moments, the unexpected twists that make a story special for me.
So my question is this, if you've outlined from beginning to end, what happens to a story that doesn't want to go where your outline is supposed to take you? Do you trash the outline and go with the side trip that's way more interesting or do you stick with the outline and maybe miss a scene that could turn the story into something total unexpected?
And a quote from Mark Twain today:
"Don't say the old lady screamed. Bring her on and let her scream."
9 comments:
Sandra, this is a great post and some of these items I need to keep working on. Writing seems to belong to the never-ending learning program. (Just like when I rode dressage.)
During the writing of my first manuscript I made an outline as I went, putting a bulleted phrase in a box in a chart where each scene was located. Then I could rearrange portions of chapters, if necessary.
I outlined part of my second manuscript to the point I lost interest in the writing of it. I prefer writing on the fly, and tweaking it after to place transitions between major scenes. To circumvent the lack of my motivation of writing, I removed some of the outlined material and set it aside in a list.
Then I take whatever bulleted phrase is in the list and write on that for awhile until I'm bored, before moving onto the next phrase, and so on.
I found during the writing process a new idea or solution would just "pop up" without warning. These would be fitted in during my "ah-ha" moment, and on I would go.
I outline the story in my noggin and beat it around up there for awhile and then just start writing. After it's been typed into the computer I start adding and subtracting what works and doesn't. I then show it to my wife and/or a good friend who will tell me if it works. Sitting and writing an outline ahead of time is to structural for me and would slow me down.
Sandra,
Hi, I just finished a Mystery Fiction class at Clackamas Community College is Oregon and for my final, I did a quick review on your story "Starlight". I thought you might be interested in reading it and looking over our class blog - it's been an awesome class! Here's the link; you can also leave a comment if you would like. :-) Hope you like it!
http://mysteryfiction.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/starlight-by-sandra-seamans/#comment-1135
Thanks, Amy
I agree with Barbara that outlining every detail until I knew how the story would end would kill the joy of writing it for me. Like David I work through a story in my head and then start writing, if I get stuck, I grab a pad and pen and start scribbling down answers to why and what and how questions until I work my way through.
Hello, Amy, and welcome to my blog. I went to your class blog and read your review. Thank you! I do tend to use old fashioned words but where I live they're pretty common and hey, I'm pretty old myself. Glad you enjoyed the story and good luck with your writing. Stop by again, you're always welcome.
I went over and read Amy's write up. Very nice!
It was pretty cool, David. But I had to chuckle when I read how she picked the story. It certainly showed me how important titles are. What's really fun is that this was the second story of mine reviewed this past week. Eastern Standard Crime did a review of The Dumb Factor. It's been a pretty wonderful week for this writer!
For my first book, I outlined everything on index cards. I knew where the story was going but allowed minor tributaries along the way mainly because the characters kept moving forward. The best thing about this approach was the daily writing. I picked up the next index card, read it, got the scene in my head, and wrote. I didn't have to stare at the empty screen waiting for Mr. Muse to arrive.
Like Barbara, I outlined my second book until I lost interest in it. Since then, I've found the voice and I'm progressing with it.
I read somewhere that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote outlines before writing a word. For me, outlining seems to work best. With Book #2, I tried the writing on the fly thing...and I'm still working on it two years later (book #1 only took about eight months).
I can see where jotting down a sentence or two of each scene and going from there could work well. You're not tied down to "it has to be this way, or the rest won't work" outline and you still have the element of surprise and discovery as you write.
I always write short stories with the seat of the pants method, but if it goes past the thousand word mark, then I'm in trouble and have to stop and work it through. And I've been finding myself doing that more and more, which is the reason I'm thinking about diving into a novel, if I can find a story and characters that I can live that long with. :)
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