Sorting the mess, order from chaos?

Well after another stalled attempt to tap out the chapter on the laptop I have decided to leave the writing aspect be until I know unequivocally I will be able to take the flow onto the page as I want to. That said today was too goof a day to miss the opportunity to do something for the story so I have spent two hours this morning rather anally going through an idea-chart sheet which has helped me structure how the story is developing in my head.

I’ve carefully gone through where I am at the minute in the story, which is Part I Conspiracy. I had planned to do the whole book in a very basic format however it has taken me this long just to get Part I of Whispering Shadows down on the two sheets on the image below.

Of course I can’t be to kind and show you everything on the page as “spoilering” my own story would be a very silly thing to do. But this method of idea storming may give you an insight into what I am trying to do.

So in explanation – the large sheet represents the events of Part I. The different colours represent different characters (the most important being Jack James in Blue). The other names you may be able to see, if not, rest assured there are both new and familiar faces from the story set within Footprints. The lines obviously show the interconnections between events and characters and how they will ultimately come together, or not as the case may be, but it all centres for Part I on a single event.

Sheet two, the smaller of the pair, represents my Syndicus chart. This is me getting my head around the idea of Syndicus as the organisation behind the story-arc that will continue between Footprints and Whispering Shadows (and perhaps beyond). I have a clear idea in my head what this organisation represents but it is difficult to see how it all works. By jotting it down on a massive blank sheet like I have lets me physically see what I am trying to do with the characters and events.

For every person/organisation I have jotted down some key elements that will act to remind me of where I am going when I come back to these sheets in a few months. I have listed DRIVING FORCES for each character (these are their frames of mind and personality traits that affect their interactions and behaviours in the story). I’ve given myself some CHARACTER CUES which act to remind me what they look like and who they really are. I’ve then begun to map out the events and connect the dots as it were to see who meets who, who doesn’t meet who and ultimately WHY and what it will offer the story.

I suppose what I’m sharing is trying to put some order to the chaos that is my head. I think one thing that is stumbling me at the moment is the fact I have so many ideas rolling around that I can’t differentiate the ideas from the plot which is difficult then to formulate the story on the page. Hopefully by buying a new pack of felt-tip pens (washable to when my daughter decides to draw on me and herself we can was it off before mummy gets home) I have done a little to alleviate the muddled mess up in the old cranium.

If nothing else I have become a multi-coloured author covered in scribbles and circles both by me and my over-zealous two year-old (well she will be next month). What better way to ensure there’s fun in every aspect of this process than joining in with the little ones!