Some of us in life like to start off our day by creating a “to do” list containing everything from checking emails first thing in the morning to fitting in biceps and triceps at the gym, to picking up groceries on our way home and then,conversely, there are others of us who prefer to just “wing it” and see where the day takes us.
I have to commend anyone who makes it through their day without the “to do” list and still manages to accomplish everything they were supposed to do by the day’s end because I know, as a type A personality, I would be the one who finally falls into bed at the end of the day only to suddenly remember I left my youngest son waiting for me at football practice where I was supposed to pick him up an hour ago!
Writers tend to either be the type to create outlines before beginning their novel or they’re the type to just “fly by the seat of their pants” and hope by the time they reach the end of the story they remained faithful to their characters and plot while managing to thread the theme all the way through. Because if they failed to do that, chances are they may fall in to bed at the end of the day and suddenly realize they left the protagonist hanging somewhere still waiting to be picked up!
As James Scott Bell said in his January 2013 Writer’s Digest article, “Even good stories can crumble if they don’t have strong framework”. At some point, writers will likely need to structure what they have written even if they chose not to outline first. Otherwise, they increase the risk of their story falling apart like a tall building in the process of being built with no foundation or scaffolding to hold it up.
Just as a “to do” list helps me to prepare for my day and keeps me focused and on track, making sure that my son gets home safely at an appropriate time before I retire for bed, the outline assures the writer that he gets his characters home- to the end of the story in an appropriate way.
To outline or to fly by the seat of the pants- that is the question… and only the writer can decide which works best!
One step at a time
When I get up in the morning I do not think about the 30 minute run I have ahead of me because if I did-if I really thought about it- I would never do it. I would focus on the long route ahead, the cold, the exhaustion it would bring on, the time it would take up and just the general difficulty of the task itself!
This is the same with writing. Taking on a new writing project means finding time and self discipline, fighting the temptation to give up when it starts to feel like you are spinning your tires and going no where or even worse- going backwards and above all it means promising yourself to persevere and NEVER give up! No matter how long the road seems to be or how exhausted you, the writer, feel – you force yourelf to push forward- taking one more step at a time , or if you’re a runner like I am one more leap!
I once read the following advice ( my apology to the author as I do not recall her or his name at the moment) : Like driving a car at night with headlights as the only way to see the road directly in front of the driver , there is no way to see the destination ahead or even just beyond the first few feet in front of him yet the driver keeps going, moving forward until finally he reaches his destination! His faith and determination give him the motivation he needs to enable him to stay on course despite the obstacles he faces.
As a writer, I know I must write a piece at a time with faith in myself and my passion along with the determination and hard work that I know it takes – without over- thinking it and then one day I will reach the finish line, maybe cold and exhausted, but I will gain the reward of success in the end! And that, my fellow writers, is worth getting up and running for!
The Journey Begins for me
As I sit here on this near zero degree day in New Jersey- tapping on the keys of my laptop -to my very first blog on this new Writing Queen site, I feel the excitement rush through me with thoughts of what I should write. Where do I start my journey, I wonder. Do I begin with “Once upon a time… ” or do I start with ” When I was a little girl” or how about ” One day, many years ago…”.
I suppose I could just start with a dream… If I wish upon a star or blow out the candles, or even throw a penny in a fountain and I release a dream that I have always had, dormant and buried, since probably about eight years old,-to write… then my journey will have begun and I will already be on my way to making that dream come true. I would think that giving life to that dream would be a perfect first step..
Each subsequent blog will reflect something I am writing, or reading, or reading about writing and will in itself be my journey and perhaps as I go along, other writers and readers will accompany me – even sharing a piece of advice or comments along the way. So here we go…
Here is my first piece of advice that I have just read : Drama is the sum of desire and danger. The greater the desire , the greater the possibility for drama. To make it work the writer must incorporate danger to the mix. Your characters must struggle to get what they want, and you must make sure they are put at risk (life, happiness, health, etc)
And so, we have taken our first step. Only tomorrow, or the next blog, will show us where we will go next.
