Method to the Madness
At least I tell myself there’s a method to my madness…though that method seems to change with each manuscript. There just isn’t a one-size-fits all approach to all books…at least not for me.
Sometimes I have a very plot driven idea first, and then I have to start peeling away the excess to get down to the essence of the story. Other times, I have all character and no plot. And once, the book literally wrote itself. The best marriage of plot and character ever.
Starting my new WIP this week and I have some *very* different characters. A heroine with an extremely traumatic event in her past and a hero who has lost his way, and, in his and his family’s eyes, his honor. Finding a setting for them, finding a way to execute so much tricky baggage, will not be a simple task.
I played with this a little bit on my last MS, though I didn’t do a full, real scene, but for my hero in this WIP, I wrote a scene that will never make it into the MS. It was his lowest moment. His fall from grace. And that was the moment when I understood him.
I’ve since tweaked the happenings of his past a little bit, but writing that scene, getting to go fully into that event that defined him, made him real for me. And it helped me realize how far he had to go, and what I needed to do to get him there.
So there you have it, a brand new method to my writing madness. It goes with talking to myself while driving or in the shower, compiling playlists that suit the mood of the MS and…googling exotic locations/hotels/houses.
What does your writing madness demand?
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I’ve only written three books and a first draft of four so far, so I dunno if I have a method completely worked out. More so I have a crazy-involved revision method. It seems like I spend maybe three or four days plotting and planning, a month writing, then two weeks revising.
My thing with revising is I spend a lot of energy figuring out what my book is really about. Thus far as written my books are never about what I thought they’d be about when I started.
With Mere Passion I thought it would be about overcoming prejudice, but ended up being about power dynamics. I thought my current WIP would be about hope overcoming despair, but it’s really more about control vs. connectedness.
So yeah, I get an idea, flesh it out into an arc, write book, and then figure out what I was trying to say in the first place. Then revise accordingly.
The thing is…starting my sixth book…I’m not sure I’ll ever have a set method. And I don’t know that I need to. Each book is different, so it makes sense to have a different approach as the book calls for.
I like what you said, about it not being about what you thought it would be. That, for me, happens a lot. Maybe what it was about was always there, but it just HITS me toward the end.
I mentioned that happened with my Russian. As I was heading to the black moment the verse that says perfect love casts out all fear came into my mind and that was when I realized what the book was about! LOL.
Always interesting to hear how other people form their stories. It works in so many different ways!
I like researching what my H/H do for a living as that always helps get my creative juices flowing.
But mostly I spend time on the first chapter until I’ve fine tuned my characters’ internal conflicts/conflict traits and then use this to figure out my major turning points ie their emotions and subsequent actions that will bring them together/and those that will push them apart (I use index cards). I have to “see” my story from a distance first, just the big peaks and valleys, before I get going. Once I’m really happy with those, I feel confidant the conflicts work and I have a general idea about my path, then I really start writing. I discover lots of fun details about my characters along the way (the close up vision), but the spine of the story never changes.
I need that “comfort map” in order to free up my writing and have fun telling the story. Otherwise, I’m just too paralyzed by all the possibilities. (kinda how I feel in the cereal aisle in a super walmart)
Amy
LOL- I had exact same moment with my zombie book (currently titled “Bride”.) Was reading through for revision and came to line “It hurts not to be in control of someone you love, even if you are misguided.” And I thought, “Hey! That’s the point of the whole book!”
Which in retrospect seems obvious. I mean “duh!” zombie bride! But amazing I didn’t see it till after.
Amy…oh! The organization! *drools*
I’ve tried to plot, never to that level, but I’m afraid I’m too impatient. I like to get the story down. 🙂 I think I get a mental image of the peaks that I need to get to, and the valleys are more unplanned. You’ve just made me realize that!
Daisy, I’m not the only one!
Good luck with the new WIP Maisey! It sounds fabulous! I want it now! I’m a sucker for a wounded hero 😉
Well, Lacey, dear Maximo of A Mistake, A Prince and A Pregnancy is wounded…and if you wait until February you can have the very tortured Adham of The Inherited Bride. 🙂
My method seems to involve a beginning scene and then thinking up background for my h&h. But, as always, it takes me a loong time to get a handle on my characters. Usually have to write half the book before they become less like lumps of clay and more like actual people! 🙂 Though not, curiously, for my soldier hero story. He was already fully fledged from the beginning. Weird. 🙂
Jackie, I’ve definitely DONE that method. I think I just tend to write the first three chapters roughly three times…by then I know them pretty well. LOL.
I don’t want to wait *pounts*
Pount? o_O
Ahem.
I don’t want to wait either!! *wails*
It’s a new word 😉 They’ll be adding it to the dictionary any day now…
It’s in MY dictionary now.
Does Maisey know who’s on the super secret NV list? Go on, post it on your blog, you know you want too…
Lacey, I WISH I knew. I’m in as much suspense as you are, trust me!
Is it time for me to try and bribe your editor with that cruise again? 😉
I’ll bet she’d take it. I make her work too hard. That video she made for me was very nice but she left out the part about all the revisions letters she has to write me. 🙂
Can’t wait to read this one too,Maisey!!
🙂 thank you Sri!