Breadcrumbs
One of the last things I will do when I'm editing one of my books is look for the breadcrumbs. Those hints of things to come from earlier in this book - and the others - to make sure I've covered them all.
Obviously, the breadcrumbs related to the prophecy will likely be written into the books. After all, that's what has been driving the plot across the trilogy. The prophecy speaks, and things happen. Or the powers-that-be share some news with Lojon, who passes it along to the Jewel Keepers as their prophetess.
But there are other breadcrumbs. Some related to relationships that happen as the books progress. Some related to other events that are tangential to the quest, but important nonetheless.
I have some of these breadcrumbs on the 3x5 cards that walk through the plot of each book. Once I finish writing, I'll go back through the cards to make sure all the ideas I had there are either in the books or were rejected because of other ideas. Because that happens too.
Still other breadcrumbs are in the notes in the chapters yet to be written. Sometimes, as I'm starting a new chapter, I read over my notes and I see a breadcrumb that needed an earlier breadcrumb. Because that's kind of the point - lots of breadcrumbs over the course of the book give the reader an 'aha' moment when he or she puts them together. So, sometimes a later breadcrumb requires going back to confirm that the earlier one was also there. Or it triggers a thought about a breadcrumb to come, which then becomes a note in a later chapter.
I don't think of breadcrumbs as the same as the plot. They may be related to the plot - as they may be related to prophecy and the quest. But sometimes they are just me trying to be clever and, as I said, give the reader something to go 'aha' over when the pieces come together.
Obviously, the breadcrumbs related to the prophecy will likely be written into the books. After all, that's what has been driving the plot across the trilogy. The prophecy speaks, and things happen. Or the powers-that-be share some news with Lojon, who passes it along to the Jewel Keepers as their prophetess.
But there are other breadcrumbs. Some related to relationships that happen as the books progress. Some related to other events that are tangential to the quest, but important nonetheless.
I have some of these breadcrumbs on the 3x5 cards that walk through the plot of each book. Once I finish writing, I'll go back through the cards to make sure all the ideas I had there are either in the books or were rejected because of other ideas. Because that happens too.
Still other breadcrumbs are in the notes in the chapters yet to be written. Sometimes, as I'm starting a new chapter, I read over my notes and I see a breadcrumb that needed an earlier breadcrumb. Because that's kind of the point - lots of breadcrumbs over the course of the book give the reader an 'aha' moment when he or she puts them together. So, sometimes a later breadcrumb requires going back to confirm that the earlier one was also there. Or it triggers a thought about a breadcrumb to come, which then becomes a note in a later chapter.
I don't think of breadcrumbs as the same as the plot. They may be related to the plot - as they may be related to prophecy and the quest. But sometimes they are just me trying to be clever and, as I said, give the reader something to go 'aha' over when the pieces come together.
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