Too Much Stuff to Get Out of There

Well, I know you’ll be disappointed, but I’m not going to be fronting up to the starting block for a few more weeks yet. About 12 of them.

I shouldn’t plan things for January. Or July. Something always happens in those months. I always end up spending time away from my work space, unable to ‘do’ what needs to be done. Unable to complete.

I’ve learned I can’t just sit still though. I have to be doing something. That something involves getting those mad ideas out of my head and into the world. I’m going to let you into a secret. It’s a big one.

I have lots of ideas. Lots.

I start out (sometimes) with a title, or something that might be a title. Then a brief outline of what it relates to, if anything. It might just be a picture.

The next step is to do a beat sheet for every character I’ve considered who might play a role in the story. Yep, goodie, baddie, side-kicks and sideliners. One or two sentences for each section of my beat sheet.

Then the scene outline. I start with ten scenes for each of the four parts. I use the beat sheet main moments and fill in the stuff in between. Sometimes, this means many more scenes than the initial ten. Sometimes, it means there are blank scenes, or a whole scene can be condensed into a single consequence – I’ll figure it out during the writing.

Yep. I know, right off the bat, it won’t be the same at the end as it is in the beginning. Things grow. The original idea may have a lot of stuff that everyone’s seen before, but if I get it down on paper, by the time I get there, I’ve considered at least ten other options for deviations from the path.

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Last week, during the forced convalescence, I wrote up ten of my ‘idea’ titles into full beat sheets and outlines. Two got tossed. Good ideas, but I’ll leave them to someone else. I wouldn’t be able to do them justice without the passion it requires to get the best out of it.

Eight are going through the next stage. Story-boarding. Making up something that looks like a cartoon (did you know I can’t draw, paint, or even manipulate pictures?) of the progression of the actions and events for the story.

At that stage, some get left in the ‘drafts’ folder – I may come up with something more fitting a bit further down the track.

I currently have six I’m very excited about.

And one more that won’t leave me alone. It’s about cooking (no, I can’t cook), and the safety of kitchens – yes, the slip and slide in the kitchen, while attempting to do normal kitchen duties, is the cause of the injury! Of course the idea won’t leave me alone! What’s the potential titles I’m looking at:

Safety Requirements for Bait Layers (or should that be Ration Assassins?).

Any suggestions, My Friend Dangerspouse? Hmmmm – got a list of safety advice for working with sharp tools, in confined spaces with dangerous weapons, on slippery floors, etc.? Maybe even an event per chapter to highlight the safety requirements, followed at the end by a video (I’m sure he said something about being able to do a video!) to demonstrate.

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I’ll wait to hear from the professional, and in the meantime, know this: I haven’t forgotten you; I will be back as soon as I can sit for more than a few minutes at a time without agony (and the desk has been adjusted to take account of the chair with round legs that don’t lock properly).

Ciao!