Laura Thomas's Blog: Self-Publishing: A Mean Old Dog (who loves to cuddle) (and might just make you rich) - Posts Tagged "outline"
Novel Zygote Formed; Writing Begins!
Ok, finally, I begin! My own personal NoWriMo starts tomorrow, Feb 27 – gonna try to push it all the way through March. Weehoooooo yay GAH terrifying! I don’t want to reveal too much about the novel just yet, but I can tell you that it has to do with a neo-Mayan cult, a kidnapping, and some very important seabirds. And it’ll take place in Utila (Honduras), Chicago, and an off-the-map island.
My goal is to write 1500 words a day, which means that just about every minute I’m not working at my actual paying job, I’ll have to be writing. Help me help me I need writing buddies! Dana – are you still in? ☺
I’ve got an outline written for the novel, and the main characters are more or less developed. Personally, I like to let the characters develop fully during the writing process, so I don’t always know exactly how they’ll turn out. I’ve written a basic history for each of them - where they come from, what their motivations are, and how they might relate to each other. But one of my favorite favorite favorite things about writing is when my characters do and say things that surprise me; when they reveal something about themselves of which I wasn’t previously aware. Man, that’s cool. When a character comes alive all by herself, I feel like I’m wrapped up in some wizard’s spell, like my story is being directed by a mind other than my own, a mind from another dimension, spinning its tale inside through my hypnotized fingers. I looooove that!
I’ve done a decent bit of preliminary research about the ancient and modern Maya, and I’ll probably do some more along the way. I’m curious if others of you who are writers do ALL your research beforehand, or do you do it as needed, while you’re writing? For “Shadow Swans,” I did most of it beforehand and then added to it as I went along, and that seemed to work well. This novel will require more research than “Shadow Swans” and I want to make sure I get it right, but I also don’t want to get so bogged down in research that I can’t start writing… Thoughts?
I’ll post periodic updates about the writing process and obstacles that I encounter along the way. Please float me some inspiration! I will catch it!
My goal is to write 1500 words a day, which means that just about every minute I’m not working at my actual paying job, I’ll have to be writing. Help me help me I need writing buddies! Dana – are you still in? ☺
I’ve got an outline written for the novel, and the main characters are more or less developed. Personally, I like to let the characters develop fully during the writing process, so I don’t always know exactly how they’ll turn out. I’ve written a basic history for each of them - where they come from, what their motivations are, and how they might relate to each other. But one of my favorite favorite favorite things about writing is when my characters do and say things that surprise me; when they reveal something about themselves of which I wasn’t previously aware. Man, that’s cool. When a character comes alive all by herself, I feel like I’m wrapped up in some wizard’s spell, like my story is being directed by a mind other than my own, a mind from another dimension, spinning its tale inside through my hypnotized fingers. I looooove that!
I’ve done a decent bit of preliminary research about the ancient and modern Maya, and I’ll probably do some more along the way. I’m curious if others of you who are writers do ALL your research beforehand, or do you do it as needed, while you’re writing? For “Shadow Swans,” I did most of it beforehand and then added to it as I went along, and that seemed to work well. This novel will require more research than “Shadow Swans” and I want to make sure I get it right, but I also don’t want to get so bogged down in research that I can’t start writing… Thoughts?
I’ll post periodic updates about the writing process and obstacles that I encounter along the way. Please float me some inspiration! I will catch it!
Self-Publishing: A Mean Old Dog (who loves to cuddle) (and might just make you rich)
Self-publishing allows an author ultimate independence and total control. It also allows ultimate invisibility to mainstream media, and a total lack of support from traditional publishing resources. I
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