I've dusted off an old outline for a story I was writing once. I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks. I'm thinking that I'm going to rework the outline slightly and then start cranking out the book.
If you've seen an outline in the last year or two from me, then that's the one I'm talking about. If you haven't seen it, then you'll just have to wait for it to appear on the NYT best seller list (which means you'll never see it, since I've been on-again/off-again writing it since at least 2002).
There's a blog post somewhere on cliffdweller that is a brief story from the book. I was inspired one night while I was doing my laundry to write it. It was while I lived at the apartments, and the laundry was two floors down but in my same building. I found that I could take my (then) PowerBook down and sit on the washers and still get a signal. So I wrote it and circulated it amongst a few friends to get some feedback.
All the feedback was positive. I should go ahead an write the whole thing. Lately WWP has been needling me to write again, so I've been thinking about picking it back up.
I feel like I want to write, but I can't seem to figure out where it's best to start. At the beginning? While that seems logical, it's not as exciting as picking it up in the middle at one of the turning points. It's not as riveting as the last chapter (where everyone dies, kidding). But it may be the right place. Still, I'm inclined to write the middle first.
Sigh. Such is my dilemma. If anyone reading this blog is a professional writer (and you know who you are), feel free to offer some advice to get me started.
4 Comments
"Begin, with the ending in mind." The rest will write itself.
Inspiration isn't structured.
It's rarely logical, too. So, creating an outline is good for organizing your thoughts - but you first must have the thoughts there to organize. Inspiration doesn't play by those rules.
And that's a good thing!
My advice: create a directory or "holding pen" for any and all ideas related to your story. it can be as simple as a bullet point jotted down on a sticky note, or it can be an entire chapter. Just get the ideas, thoughts, plot points, action scenes, etc., written down. Think of them as jigsaw puzzle pieces - and the outline are those pieces that make up the outer edge.
Once you have the pieces, then creating the picture will be possible. Believe it or not, you already have this "slush pile" of ideas. It's already taking up space in your mind. But your mind being logical (somewhat) is trying to organize and make sense of the story. It's working with what it's got - so give it more to work with.
Everyone's creative process is different. There's no "right way" - only a right way that works for you.
Now, if only I could follow my own advice…
***looks pointedly at empty email, then frowns at cliffdweller, while tapping foot impatiently******
hahahaha. empty email chick. this is something I wrote 4 years ago… here's the original link to the post, a lot of good it'll do you - it's password protected.