A Slave to the Paper (AKA Timelines Timelines Timelines)
Occasionally I talk about my process when I write. Usually it’s pretty chaotic, but it makes sense to me. Ultimately, that’s what matters. If it works for me, it means I get the manuscript written and readers get a book. Yay!
I thought about this yesterday because I was walking out of the bathroom at work and got hit over the head with an error I realized I’d made in the timeline for Break Me In. It involved secondary characters, so it wasn’t something hard to fix or detrimental to the books plot. And, looking at it now, the fix works better than the original. Go figure.
But it got me thinking. One of the things I do with each book is plot out a timeline. This is probably as close as I get to actual plotting. As my husband noted to me a few days ago, I do my best when I just sit down and go. If I have an outline or something to work from, nothing seems to go right and I spend more time fixing than anything else. If I force things, it’s a no go. (Tho, that’s a catch-22, I have something to fix in the first place. It could be worse…)
What you see above is the timeline for the next Body Masters book (only because I didn’t have the timelines sheets for Break Me In handy for the photo). Dates and years don’t really matter much, but since I print them from Outlook, it is what it is. The months do matter, however, so those I need.
I could probably white board my timelines, but once I was done, I’d erase and have nothing to look back to if something comes up in edits, or it’s a series book. I need to be able to refer back to these suckers. So, like a lot of things I do in regards to writing, my timelines are done on paper. On a calendar. The main reason for this is the ease with which I can take it anywhere. I can’t take my laptop or tablet or smartphone to work with me, so I need something with flexibility.
Its also always done in pencil. Always. Always. Always. Because I am not perfect. I do make mistakes and pencil allows me the flexibility to adjust the flow if needed. I’ve tried numerous times to make this work for me electronically and I just can’t. So I surrender to the fact that I am a slave to the paper.
