My Creative Process is Getting Creative on Me

I have been working hard on the fourth Jonathan Alvey novel, ‘Corrupted Souls’.

I am enjoying writing it and think the story will hold together well, and be a good read – but . . .

But by the gods what an odd adventure writing it is.

I write ‘organically’ – I’m a ‘panster’. I don’t plan out the novel, I just sit down and write what comes to me. Usually it all flows chronologically until the last few chapters when, suddenly, scenes from all over the final chapters are crowding into my mind. I’m used to it and keeping the scenes intact then ‘sewing’ them together works for me.

This novel however, the ‘scenes from all over’ phenomena  didn’t wait for the end chapters – it has been going on since the first writing session. I’ve had scenes written that were right near the end, written the same day as I wrote the opening chapter. The entire manuscript was a Hodge-podge of scenes from across the entire plot.

I have surprised myself in my ability to keep it coherently in m mind. It’s like those people who spin plates on sticks, many spinning at a time, always having to keep balance, and yet have all the plates turning at the right speed.

I have finally stitched together all of the beginning and middle. I’m trying to move forward only in a chronological order now; adding the new scenes when I get to them, and stitching what already exists onto those.

I’m just over 75,000 words into this novel. . . and it keeps going. It has been a challenge to keep this one running smoothly, and I know the edits might be tougher than usual, but as long as the end result is a good read it will be worth it.

Everybody writes differently, and no one way is wrong or better, but I might have to have a word with my Muse… after this one is finished.

*never piss off your Muse until the work is done.

Filed under: Writing Tagged: current work in progress, edits, Jonathan Alvey, muse, novel, paranormal private investigator, plot, readers, Urban Fantasy, world building, writing