Why I Plot

I spend most of my year excited for November. Dreaming about November. Anticipating November. Because of the time I spend thinking about it, I also plan for November. In fact, I consider myself an obsessive planner.

I’ll work on my characters, and my character bios. I know their fears, their dreams, their goals, and their background stories. I plan my setting, draw out maps, name all of the places they frequent, just in case it comes up. I outline, and then I outline, then I outline again. I usually have about three outlines, each one expanding on the previous.

Why is this important?

Last month, I was able to write three different books in thirty days. I was able to start and throw out scene after scene, and it was because of my extensive planning. This year, I decided to go a step further and do a scene by scene plan. I’ve always had a detailed outline, but sometimes a section would last three or four scenes, and sometimes just one. I didn’t know whose point of view it would be in, and sometimes, I would get stuck just because I didn’t know how to transition from one scene to the next.

So this year, I decided to take my outline and turn it into a scene by scene. I used a spreadsheet for this one, numbered each scene, and then wrote who the point of view character was and exactly what was supposed to happen.

After that, I went to Scrivener, put that many scenes into the novel, and then wrote the scene synopsis as the title, and the detailed outline points in the notes section.

By the time November came, all I had to do was open Scrivener, start at scene one, read the outline of what should happen and write it. When I finished, the next scene was already set up for me.

It’s a lot of work, but the payoff is worth it. I love being an obsessive planner, because it means that I’m able to achieve my goals. 

And Then I Saw Her Face… Now I’m A Believer…

In the past, I’ve never really cared for character interviews. I couldn’t understand how knowing my character’s favorite food would help me know the deeper part of them. I focused more on what was the most influential moment(s) in their life and how did they react to that situation.

It was a good starting place, but I’ve since learned that it’s not everything.

For Commissioned, I decided to give character interviews a chance. At least try them out. When I got to questions like: What’s their favorite music, I still rolled my eyes. Does it matter? They’re living in a fantasy world with Asian influence. But since I’d decided to try it, I made up music they liked. 

Turns out, one of my characters played the flute… and that ended up becoming a major plot point in the story. I just hadn’t realized it yet.

It was helpful, but I didn’t realize how helpful until this week. After finishing revisions on Commissioned, I’ve been going through book 2, trying to figure out what went wrong. It took a few days, but I realized I was missing a vital character. So I did the same thing as before. I found a picture on Pinterest to give me inspiration and started the character interview.

Halfway through, I got to the question: What are her religious beliefs?

Character interview with Tsetseg Manda

The answer blew me away. I knew I was missing a major part of the climax to the third book, and she’s it. She’s the fodder that builds the emotional conflict for one of my characters. I just hadn’t realized it yet. And if I hadn’t done the character interview, I’m not sure I would have ever known.

So yes, I’m definitely converted! Character interviews make the character more than one dimensional, and even when the questions seem pointless or superficial, the answers may not be.

Letting the Story Take the Lead

In October, I made my plans for November. I was going to write book one of this series, and so when I was outlining, I did a vague outline for all three books, a fill in the blank outline for the first two, and a detailed outline for book one.

Then November actually came and I finished book one in fourteen days. I didn’t want to stop the momentum, so I moved onto book two with only a slightly less-than-vague outline to go by. This means that as I’m writing, I have to figure out ways to jump from this plot point to the next. As can be expected, the results have been all over the place.

In the past week, I’ve learned more about the belief system of the world, especially concerning death. Apparently, their limbo is called the Yuchbish, and there’s a dragon in there. It kind of blindsided me, but I decided to see where it went. I still have yet to decide if it’s going to stay, but there’s some good scenes in there.

I think the biggest issue that I have is that I’m never quite sure where to proceed next. Obviously it’s not hindering my word count. I’m currently 50,000 words into book two, and hoping to finish it by the end of the month. But I felt like there was an issue with the end of the book. Obviously, it’s the middle book, so the biggest thing to watch for is that the whole book doesn’t become that sagging middle. Yesterday, while driving to work, I had an epiphany. I wasn’t treating it like its own book. I wasn’t focused on having the action move forward, or to having a climax at the end.

Obviously, if it’s a story worth telling, even if it’s in the middle of the series, it needs to have a clear purpose, as well as a clear climax. Something to give the readers some kind of resolution before moving into the next issue and forward in the overarching plot.

Now that I’ve figured out the climax of the book, as well as the conflict, I’m confident that the story and I are now on the same page. Here’s to seven more days! Hope everyone else is doing well!

Trying Something New

Every year, I try and find a new way to challenge myself as a writer. This year, I wanted to try to write in first person. All of the other books that I’ve written have been in third person, except for the very first draft of Servant of an Empire. The reason I changed to third person was because it felt like every sentence started with the word I. It reminds me of the scene in Princess Diaries where she talks about how many stinkin’ times she uses the word ‘I.’

I was really nervous, especially since all my attempts at practicing it weren’t going so well. But I’d also spent much more time trying to get into my characters’ heads, so that I can really understand how they think, so that I can imitate the way they talk.

So the first day of NaNoWriMo, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. In fact, I was expecting to crash and burn. If not, the best case scenario would be a wooden, I-riddled first draft.

I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was I able to figure out a way to avoid the dreaded ‘I’, but I was also able to make clear and distinct voices. Or rather, Yaru and Nara were able to let their voices flow.

Remember, these are just first drafts, but here’s the difference:

The man huffed, slashing the sword from side to side, almost burying the blade into the wooden crate. If this idiot puts even a nick in the surface, I’d made him eat the Vor through his nostrils. “Not worth it,” he said. His voice was gruff, like sandpaper against stone, and his thick lips sneered down at me.

The parade stops as the monks congregate around the holy links, seeking the word of Gal. I snort. They should know better than to think that Gal would spend any time in this place. With the dust layering every building, and the stench of livestock, if I were a creator, I’d steer clear from this place. I’d probably spend my days floating across the sea’s foam or in the air, tumbling like… I don’t know, some kind of tumbling thing. A bird maybe.

I love both of them, but what I particularly love is how distinct they feel. I know which one is Yaru and which one is Nara. Now I’m excited to see how the rest of it develops.

How about the rest of you? How are your novels coming along?

Character Bios

I’ve been waiting for so long for November to start. To get myself through October, without starting any new projects, I’ve been working on prewriting. To say that I’ve done more for this book than any other would be an understatement. My Bible is filled. Background stories, setting, culture, maps, outlines, and yes, character bios.

When creating a character, I usually say that all I need to know is the most important event in their life so far and how it affected the character. I usually steered clear from the character questions and interviews because I never thought they were that relevant. I mean, I have characters living in a fantasy world trying to survive. Who cares what their favorite color is, right?

But since I have so much time, I figured I would actually try them out and see what happened. I went through multiple questions and picked the ones that I thought would apply the most to my characters, and yes, I left the question about favorite color in there. There were times that I really got stumped.

What kind of music does my character like to listen to? I have no idea.

What time do they go to bed or wake up? Does it matter?

Apparently, it does. I found out that one of my character loves to go stargazing, which means he stays up late to look at stars. I have another character who like silence, no noise, no music. Things I would not have known if I’d just focused on the most important aspect of their lives.

It doesn’t feel like I’ve gotten everything about the characters figured out, but there are small details that separates them from all of the other characters. It’s not a replacement, but I will definitely be using it in the future.

What do you do to build your characters? How do you get their backgrounds and personalities figured out?

NaNoWriMo Prep

I love autumn. It’s my favorite time of year, the anticipation for Halloween, and Thanksgiving, then Christmas. It’s the time that people start gathering indoors, drinking hot chocolate and snuggling up in blankets.

Recently, there’s one more thing to add to the anticipation, and that’s NaNoWriMo. It’s my favorite month of the year now, and preparation sometimes takes up an entire month as well.

Every year, I try and do something different. I try and push myself into doing something that I haven’t necessarily tried before. My first year, I wrote from the point of view of a male main character. Last year, I wrote a contemporary about a middle-aged woman dealing with her father’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Every year, I learn something new about myself as a writer, and about writing in general.

This year, I’m trying to write a series. Not just one book, but the beginning of a story, one that ends with a cliffhanger and everything. The preparation for this one has been brutal.

I’m a planner, and I have to know where I’m going. When I’m planning a series, it’s not just about this book, it’s about the entire story arch, so that when I start, I know what I need to add in the beginning to make the ending fit. When the ending’s three books away, that can be kind of daunting.

The only thing that gets me through this is outlining. My outlining process hasn’t changed too much over the past few years. It really depends on time, if I’m crunched, I might do a general outline, but when I really want to sit down and do it right, I go through a 3-4 step outlining process.

All of my outlining is handwritten. I feel much closer to my creative juices when I can use more than just my fingers on a keyboard. I start with notecards, writing down the basic plotlines that I hope to skip through. Once I finish those, I flip them over and add more detail to those specific plot points.

Step 1

Then I type it all up and add triple spacing, and print it out. That’s when I either do two or three more drafts. Since I’m crunching on time, I suspect I’ll only get one draft finished, but that’s okay. It’s the same basic idea. I take the outline that’s printed out, and I add even more plot points to it, more explanations as to why it’s important.

Step 2

Then I type it up.

Step 3

Since this is a trilogy, and since November is fast approaching, I’m actually doing all three processes at once. I’m trying to get all of my basic plotlines (the green draft) finished before November starts. Then I’m trying to get at least half of the back of the notecards (the yellow draft) finished so that I have the basic idea of at least where the next book is going.

And then I’m trying to do the fine detailed outline (pink draft) for this book.

How about the rest of you? What kind of preparation are you making for your NaNoWriMo novel?

Storyteller's Symposium

Last weekend, I was able to attend the first ever Storyteller’s Symposium in our little town. It was a fantastic event, and I was very impressed by the number of would be artists that appeared. What I really hadn’t expected was that the storytellers included all facets, including photography, writing, film, and everything in between.

 What I loved was that even though I’d heard most of the advice already, it didn’t mean that there wasn’t something new for me to learn. For the majority of the month, I’ve been working on prewriting and preparing for NaNoWriMo, which means that I’m going back to the beginning. It’s been a year since I’ve started a first draft, and I feel like I’m relearning and revising how I start out a novel.

Probably what makes this ‘novel’ so difficult is that it isn’t a novel. It’s shaping up to be a series, which means that there’s even more plot points, even more characters, and even more planning so that the story arch follows a clear trajectory from start to finish. I’d gotten about two thirds of the way through the rough outline when I got stuck. I needed a large and satisfying climax, but I still wasn’t sure who my actual antagonist was. Or if the two potentials were working together.

During the symposium, I was thinking about this issue, and there was one lesson that really stood out to me. One of the presenters talked about the Dramatic Structure, the need to have a clear protagonist and a clear antagonist, and to have the two confront one another during the climax. He also mentioned that if there are two protagonists, then they both need to be present during the conflict.

You’d think that would be obvious, but every single climax I’d run through hadn’t included one of my characters. She was just as important as the other, but somehow, I hadn’t thought to make sure she had a clear reason to be there as well.

Once I figured out that both protagonists needed to be present, the dynamics changed, and the plot opened up again.

How’s your prewriting going? Ready for November?

Plot, Character and Setting

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been gearing up for NaNoWriMo. Every year, I try and do something a little bit different, something to push me to try something new.

Last year, I wrote my first modern day novel with no fantasy, just actual family relations and dealing with the disease of Alzheimer’s. It was a learning experience I wouldn’t trade for anything. To see what I learned from that novel, check out the link here.

This year, when I started thinking about NaNoWriMo, back in April, I didn’t quite have a story in mind. I used Camp NaNoWriMo to create characters, hoping that at some point, one of them would jump out to me and ask me to write their story. Fortunately, even though it was a frustrating month (possibly because I don’t like spending a lot of time with strangers), I did have two characters whose stories started to meld together.

Last month, I started plotting out the story. It was exciting, the more I plotted, the more I learned about the story. It’s the closest I’ve come to pantsing. I’m not actually writing, but I’m letting the story flow out. The more I wrote, the more I learned about the world, about the situations the characters were in, about the setting. Unfortunately, I kept hitting walls. Moments when I didn’t know where the story was going.

This week, I put aside plotting and character development. I started working on the setting. Getting to know the world my characters were living in. I had to determine how different organizations work, both of my characters are deeply involved in their own systems, and apparently, the plot wouldn’t move forward unless I understood the setting.

Writing out the rules to the magic system

As I continued to build the setting, I suddenly understood my characters so much better. Once I understand their world, I was able to understand their thoughts, their reactions, and their motives. It’s amazing how plot, character, and setting are all so intertwined.

What preparations are you making for NaNoWriMo?

2 Month Countdown!

Today is September 1^st, which means 2 months until NaNoWriMo!

I am beyond excited. I love the comradery, the way that writers seem to pop out of the woodworks to participate. It’s so much fun to interact with writers of different stages and ages, get to see the whole spectrum from start to finish.

This year, in April, I participated in Camp NaNoWriMo. I decided to try to write character bios, one a day, and see what happens. Even though it was a frustrating exercise, I found that I started to have characters with stories that intertwined.

Two of those characters were Gastian and Torina. As I continued to think about their story, it kept growing. The extent of this story started to overwhelm me. There were so many different plot points I wanted to hit, so many quests, and characters that needed to be introduced. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there is a good chance that this won’t be just one book. This might be the first time I write a trilogy/series.

I’ve had this idea for several months now. I would add small pieces here and there, but the enormity of it overwhelmed me, and I was too afraid to try and plot it.

Finally, this week, after talking with my NaNoWriMo group, I decided to just get it done. As much as I love Scrivener, and the computer, I found that I couldn’t plan it out the way I wanted to. So back to pen and paper I went!

I labeled each of the main characters, and where they lived. Then I wrote out each of the ‘quests’ that they would need to complete. Brick wall again. I couldn’t figure out how to get them from one spot to the next. That’s when I drew a map.

It’s amazing how much can be accomplished with a map. Once I had it drawn, everything fell into place. I was able to draw out the plot points on the map, and all I had to do was figure out how they moved from one place to the next.

And when I got stuck, I worked on character development. I found that I was missing a very key character. I absolutely can’t wait to sink my teeth into him! He’s fantastic, and diabolical all at once. I also discovered some things about my main characters that hadn’t shown up in the 500 word character bio.

So far, I’ve only plotted about a third of the story, but the more I plot, the more excited I get. I’m having a hard time sleeping because these characters have taken over my brain.

How about the rest of you? Gearing up for NaNoWriMo? What are you plans for November?

Camp Update

Two weeks ago, I was very positive about my camp goals.  500 word character bios? Easy!

Well, not so much.

Turns out, I get frustrated when I start to connect with a character, and then after 500 words, I have to say goodbye. Not necessarily a farewell forever, but enough that it’s starting to become a roadblock.  I don’t want to write the character bios because I don’t want to have to start all over again. I don’t want to have to stop.

That’s not a good thing. When my goals keep me from writing, I know that I’m not doing this right. I’ve written about eleven bios so far, but last week, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. The characters are starting to jump into one another’s bios.

As of now, I have two separate stories starting to develop, with characters finding common ground, and more importantly, common goals. There’s a few oddball characters that don’t fit, but I’m hoping that at some point, I figure out what their stories are. That way, I have more characters, more stories, and more writing to do!

I’m excited to see how the plots develop, especially since now I have the beginning stages of stories started. Maybe I’ll finish characters this week and start looking at plots.

It’s been an interesting experiment, trying to find ways to increase my productivity, and although I did run into a wall several times this month, I’m starting to see the results. Hopefully now I’ll have a new project for July’s Camp and for NaNoWriMo in November.

How about the rest of you? Any tips on promoting productivity?

Why Writing is like Playing Soccer

I’ve been trying to focus on quite a few projects recently.  Between finishing up a revision of the Yellow WIP, doing a beta read through for a friend (I’ll let you know when it gets published!), preparing an activity for church this Tuesday (very excited!), trying out some new recipes for cakes and starting the prewriting for my newest novel, I’ve got quite a bit going on. 

The prewriting has been one of my favorite parts this week.  It’s been exhilarating and terrifying all at once.  As I was thinking about it, I started comparing it to soccer.

Probably because our house has been inundated with soccer ever since the world cup started.  There’s really no way to escape when you’re married to a South American.

Hubby playing soccer.  He's the one in the blue.

Since I started writing, I’ve always begun writing, I’ve always written the same genre.  I love reading YA fantasy, whether it be dystopian, medieval or anything in between.  Naturally, that’s the kind of stories that float around in my head.  I started writing, working on improving my skill.  I spent years learning the different ins and outs, what to do, what not to do.  I practiced, I sweat it out, and I worked daily on my skills. 

Now, I can see the effect of my practice.  The type of writing that took 3-4 drafts to produce now only takes 1-2.  I know how to create believable characters, settings, and it takes much less work to really develop them. 

My husband has a similar dedication to his hobby.  Since he was a child, he’s played soccer.  Often hours a day.  Since we moved to the US, he joined multiple teams, indoor, outdoor, professional, recreational, and probably more than I can keep track of.  He’s almost always played defense, and he’s good.  (I promise that’s not just me being partial.) 

I remember going to one of his games.  He’d been sitting on the bench due to a previous injury he’d been recovering from.  I’d gotten a bit bored, and I’d brought a book along to read just in case.  I’d gotten so engrossed that I forgot to look up every few minutes to see if he was playing.  Then, I heard someone shouting his name.  I looked up and to my surprise, he was playing, not just playing, but he was one of the strikers up front.  And he looked completely lost.  It’s not that he’d never played soccer before.  It’s just that he’d never been in that position. 

That’s how I feel right now.  I know how to write, and I’ve done it for years, but this is a completely different position.  The use of sentences, verbs, punctuation, that’s all completely the same.  The importance of deleting extraneous words and focusing on showing, not telling.  The difference is that the story is a completely different section of the field than I’ve played before.  I’ve never written a contemporary book where my research is grounded in real life.  I’ve never written a character driven story.  Most of my stories are more plot driven.  Focusing on the character throws everything in a brand new light.

As I’ve watched my husband play soccer, I’ve seen him improve, especially now that he’s becoming more versatile.  I can’t wait to see myself improve as I push myself to learn a new position, or in this case, try a new genre.

Starting New

In my last post, I mentioned that I’m starting to think of a new novel.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about November.  I like to plan in advance.  Since I’ve already polished The Orphans of Jadox, and I have betas going through the King’s Councilor, and I’m 2/3 through revising Rowell’s story, that means that it’ll be time to start on something new.  Though I love writing YA fantasy, and it’s always going to be my go to genre, I’ve decided I want to branch out.  I’m going to try writing contemporary, adult, character-driven fiction.  It’s a bit of a 180 spin from where I usually am, and it’s actually quite exciting.

Which means that all of the prewriting process is completely different.  Writing in contemporary means researching real things.  Instead of creating new, eccentric names, I’m researching top names (first and last!) in the US, including Spanish names. Has anyone realized how many Hispanic last names end with a z? 

Adding to that, I’m researching real places as well.  It’s been an incredibly interesting experience, blending truth and fiction.  Real places – a real city, but at the same time, I can’t really use the names of real schools or nursing homes.  Not without getting into trouble if I don’t portray them correctly. 

There’s so much more needed, and I’m just on the top of the iceberg.  School teachers, employment, everything needs to be planned before I can start. 

Though it’s a completely new experience, it’s still one of my favorite parts of writing.  I love the planning stage.  I get to discover so much, and it’s the moment where I can experiment with just about anything. 

How about the rest of you?  Starting any new projects?

Practice, Practice, Practice

I’ve been writing for a while.  My first ‘official’ novel was written in high school, once I finally figured out the value of outlining and preplanning.  It took me almost three months to write, but I was incredibly proud of myself.  After two or three ‘drafts’ of that novel, which consisted of mostly just fixing the spelling, I moved to my second novel, though that one was never finished. 

When I got to college, I left all of my writing at home and focused on ‘real life’ until I realized that the more I ignored my writing, the harder it was for me to focus on my studies.  And nursing is not a field that you don’t want to be able to focus in.  My Junior year, I went back home, grabbed my binders and started reading through that first novel that I’d written.  To my surprise, it was awful.  Terrible.  I cringed at how juvenile it sounded. 

I spent most of my Junior year, and the summer after revising the novel.  I made some pretty substantial chances, and it ended up with 35,000 more words and a much more satisfying ending.  But it still didn’t feel like enough.  So I went back and revised that.  And then I revised again.  I read books on how to write, and I began to branch out, explore on the internet to see what was available.  I found critique partners who were willing to work with me, despite my inexperience. 

After a year of revising that first novel, another idea came to my mind.  I tried to follow the same procedure, using months to plan and prepare, but this story took me by surprise and after just a week of planning, I wrote the entire novel during the last month of my Senior year.  I was amazed by how much better this novel was than the first one.  It’s not me bragging, I had just learned enough skills that this draft was almost to par with draft number 4 or 5 of the first novel.

I’ve found, after years and years of writing, that I’m a reviser at heart.  I don’t mind taking my novels and tearing them apart, just as long as I know that it will be better.  I just finished a major revision of my Blue WIP, probably one of the only ones where I was dissatisfied with how it turned out after I finished the first draft. 

Now that I’ve finished with that revision, I went back to my NaNo novel, ready to tear it apart.  Last week, I went through the entire thing, doing a quick read to decide what major changes needed to be made.  To my surprise, this novel was solid.  Yes, there will be revisions, but nothing as drastic as the first 4 novels that I’d written.  The practice, and the dedication that I’d shown to my writing had finally started to show.

Growing up, I took piano lessons.  And I believe that I had some talent.  But years and years of half-practicing and not dedicating myself to the craft has decreased that talent somewhat.  At least, that’s how I feel.  Now that I live on my own, and now that I understand the value of practice, I actually have improved much more than I did when I took lessons.  It’s just a matter of focusing and practicing on a regular basis.

Picture taken by me

Writing is the same way.  No matter how much talent a person has, there’s always something more to learn.  I heard once that the first million words are just practice.  As I went through all of the novels, half-novels and rewrites that I’d done, I realized how much that’s true.  My NaNo novel was probably the novel where I surpassed that number.  (If not before). 

Does that mean I’m done?  Everything I write will be gold?  Not in the least.  But it does mean that I’ve learned, I’ve improved and I’m going to keep improving.

Planning an Event

So recently, I’ve been going through some of my writing notes.  I only took one creative writing class, and I used the opportunity to soak up as much as I could about writing and using my creative side.  (Yet, math-wise, I went all the way through 1 ½ years of calculus.  Go figure.)  I took very in-depth, detailed notes, and I’ve kept them for years.

Our teacher had us take a book (which I wish I could remember which book it was) and each of us had to present a chapter.  My chapter was specifically about writing, and I really wish that I’d kept it.  But I wanted to talk about a few of the notes that I took. 

One of the ones that I’ve really been thinking about recently is the fact that “books are events.”  In this idea, it’s the thought that says that a book is an event between the reader and writer.  As writers, we’re planning this event, hoping that the reader will enjoy it.  If we don’t prepare enough, food, entertainment or music, then how will our guests be able to sit back, relax and enjoy? 

Even if we’re missing the silverware, there’s going to be some awkward moments. 

I really enjoy planning activities, we’re evening having a ‘Thanksgiving dinner’ this Saturday.  It’s taken me days to prepare.  Things like buying a turkey with enough time to defrost, baking pies and rolls between work schedules, and finding enough chairs for everyone we’ve invited.  We also had to invite our guests with enough time for them to response.

A babyshower that I planned

With writing, there’s the same planning and preparation.  A writer can’t just put a few words on the page and expect it to be good enough.  There needs to be editing and revising.  If there’s something I don’t understand, like passive vs active then I need to look it up.  It’s like baking a turkey.  I can’t just hope I know enough to cook it the right amount and not give everyone salmonella. 

With writing, we’re inviting a large number of guests.  There’s even a chance of hundreds of guests, which means that there needs to be even more preparation.  That’s where revision, revision, revision comes in. 

So right now, I’m preparing for a big event.  I don’t know when the event will be, but trust me, I will be ready.

Prewriting: Step 4 - Creating The Small Settings

Since I’ll be spending so much of November working on my NaNoWriMo project, I thought I’d show you a bit of my prewriting process.  This is what I did during October.  This post is about creating settings - the small ones.

There are a few places that I have to get the images of what’s there.  In my last post, I talked about using Google Sketch.  It’s good for the big settings, but almost impossible for the small ones that need a bit more creativity, less structure and more of a picture.

For example, I have a world that’s created only in dreams.  Now, I’ve never actually been to that world, and I wasn’t quite sure what it looked like.  So I began doodling.  As I did, I began to get a clearer picture.  Doors.  Lots of doors.  Each one leading into a different person’s dream.

So as I doodled, this is what I came up with.  It’s just an outline, but it makes the picture clearer for me.

And of course, there’s a Rowell’s dream world.  I knew what I wanted, but the where and the how?  That was a little bit more difficult.  So, again, I doodled until I could figure it out.

Now I know what’s going on and where my characters are.  

Prewriting: Step 3 - Outlining

Since I’ll be spending so much of November working on my NaNoWriMo project, I thought I’d show you a bit of my prewriting process.  This is what I did during October.  This post is about outlining.

I need to know my story before I can write it.  I’ve tried writing without having an outline and it turned into a jumbled mess that I still need to fix.  Each story comes to me in varying degrees of completeness.  This story, I knew the beginning, but I wasn’t sure about the ending.  I didn’t quite know where it would end.  To work it out, I use note cards. 

Through experience, I learned to number them.  It’s a basic idea of what happens when.  I write one note card, then move to the next one.  If I’m stuck, I know I just have to write the next one.  This outline ended up being almost 70 note cards long, which is quite a lot for me.  Once I finish the skeletal structure of the story, it’s time to add the meat – the muscle.  On the back of the note card, I add a few notes about that plot point. 

Then I take it all and type it up into an outline, with a lot of spaces between each point.  Once I print it out, I add even more details below each plot point. 

Putting more meat to the outline

First draft outline

In the end, I have a complete outline and a clear idea of where I’m going.  For this NaNoWriMo novel, I created a 26 page outline, ready to guide me through the crazy month of November.  It’s my road map, keeping me on track.

Prewriting: Step 2 - Creating Characters

Since I’ll be spending so much of November working on my NaNoWriMo project, I thought I’d show you a bit of my prewriting process.  This is what I did during October.  This post is about creating characters.

Before I write, I have to have the idea of where the story is going.  And to do that, I have to know who my characters are.  My stories are always focused on the characters, especially their journeys, since I write YA. 

This story is about Rowell, the son of my two main characters from the Red WIP.  He called out to me in the previous story I wrote.  I’ve loved getting to know him, and it’s almost surreal writing Larzo and Aydra as parents.  They’ve all grown up and changed, though I guess that’s to be expected. 

While I do know most of the characters in the beginning of the story – Rowell’s family and friends – once he starts his own journey, he meets new people and makes new friends.  

There are some secondary characters who have a very large influence over Rowell, and to correctly portray them in the story, I need to know where they come from.  What’s their motivation?  And also, I need to know what they look like. I can’t keep track of that stuff in my head.  Mostly because I can’t visualize it at all. 

So I create character sheets. 

Here’s an example of one of my characters in the early stages. 

She’s much more fleshed out now, but that’s what I began with.  I’m no artist, and I can’t draw people at all, but at least now I can see a little bit of what Eni looks like.  I make sure I have hair color and eye color at least.  Since she’s one of the main characters, she has a full sheet.  Some of the secondary characters, like Rowell’s sisters, have to share a sheet. 

Here’s the antagonist.  His name is Tadrol and at first, I couldn’t figure out what motivated him.  What was it that made him do the terrible things he did?  I tend to write until I figure it out, exploring what kind of character he is.  If I hadn’t set the time constraint (finishing by November,) I probably would have written out character sketches.  But at least now I know how to write him realistically.

How do you create your characters?  What do you start with?  Appearance or background?

Prewriting: Step 1 - Finding a Color

Since I’ll be spending so much of November working on my NaNoWriMo project, I thought I’d show you a bit of my prewriting process.  This is what I did during October.  This post is about separating the story from all the others.

I’ve written several novels.  When I first started, it was easy for me to keep track.  There was just one.  But then I started the second one.  I’m one of those people who doesn’t like to throw anything away.  So when I had binders for two books, I had a hard time finding the right one.  And it was harder to switch from one to the other.  That’s where the Color Coordination comes in.

Each novel I write has a different color.  It helps me separate each one.  I’m able to jump into the story without having to figure out where I am.  And each color almost automatically helps me to work on multiple stories at the same time.  I also have a hard time coming up with titles, so they go by the name “The Red Story” or “The Blue Story” until I can come up with something suitable.

So when I know I’m going to start a new story, I have to find a new color.  And let me tell you, it’s getting harder to find the cheaper binders because I’ve used most of the colors already.  But fortunately, as I was preparing, it was the beginning of a new school year, which meant that there were a lot more school supplies. 

I decided on yellow for Rowell’s story.  There were yellow binders along with yellow notebooks.  And it felt right.  That’s something I always work towards as well.

So here’s what I start out with.  Like the NaNoWriMo sticker on the front?