Welcome to Mysterious Writers, Anne. It's good to have you join us here.
Thanks
for featuring me today, Jean. You requested an article about how I plot. Well,
the truth is, I don’t! Every one of my stories, however, begins with a kernel of
an idea. Then, I creep forward. S-L-O-W-L-Y. Very slowly, scribbling my thoughts
down on paper. The catalyst for the story ranges from a blurred image to a crime
or snippet of conversation. Like the story, it’s like a mirage--never really
crystal clear inside my head. It’s more of a feeling.
As you
might well imagine, I’m envious of writers who are able to plot out their
stories beforehand. I listen and stare in amazement when a fellow writer says
they have such and such a scene to write and then they proceed with in-depth and
often layered details.
How do
they do that? How can they possibly know these things? Am I doing it all wrong?
Do I dare admit I never know from one sentence to the next what will
happen?
As you
may have already guessed, I’m a ‘pantser’, or ‘organic’ writer.
It took
me a very long time to accept this haphazard approach. It took even longer to
embrace it as my own. Why? I wanted to find an easier way to write. I wanted to
get the story down as quickly and painlessly as possible. Anything seemed
preferable to standing in the fog and inching one step forward and then taking
two steps back. Besides, when it came to revisions, I’d revise until my eyes
bled!
Surely
there was an easier way.
I read
how-to write articles that advocated plotting a story before committing it to
paper. It was the method of choice for countless bestselling authors, I was
told. So, I tried to follow the instructions. I tried outlining. I diligently
plotted two complete manuscripts, and wrote page after page of detail, dialogue,
and description.
Great, I
thought! I’ve done it. From here on in it'll be easy, peasy! When it came time
to actually commit those weeks and plotting notes to writing those stories,
however, I couldn’t do it. I’d start, write a few words, and then suddenly
decide the bathroom needed cleaning. (Which is very odd, considering how much I
detest housework!)
It took
years for me to figure out why I procrastination flowered into writer’s block.
The answer? Plotting took the fun out of writing. What was the point of telling
the story when I already knew how it would unfold and end?
I came
to realize I’m my first reader. I write to find out what happens
next.
The same holds
true for character development. I learn a little about my characters each time I
meet with them on the page. It’s a process similar to meeting a real person for
the first time. You’re introduced, and in those few brief seconds, you make a
snap impression of who you think they are. With
each additional encounter, those notions are either proven or discarded until a
clear picture of who they really are emerges. Even more fascinating (at least
from a writer’s point of view) is when a person lowers their mask and shows you
who they really are! In real life, as in fiction, that makes for a great
story.
To wrap
this all up, every writer needs to understand there is no correct way to write.
All that really matters is getting the story written. How that’s accomplished is
up to the individual. What works, works. End of story!
Speaking of
story, here’s the blurb for Frank, Incense and Muriel. The story takes
place the week before Christmas when the stress of the holidays is enough to
frazzle anyone’s nerves. Tensions increase when a friend begs Muriel to team up
with a sexy private investigator to find a missing woman. Forced to deal with an
embezzler, kidnapper, and femme fatale is bad enough, but add Muriel’s zany yet
lovable family to the mix and their desire to win the coveted D-DAY (Death
Defying Act of the Year) Award, and the situation can only get worse. This
story, book one of the Muriel Reeves Mysteries, is recipient of the prestigious
2011 Holt Medallion Award of Merit.
I’d
like to encourage readers to enter my
giveaway contest. Up for grabs is an e-copy of Frank, Incense and Muriel. Leave a comment and you're
automatically entered. The winner will be chosen at random and announced on my
blog on December 12,
2012. Good luck!
Thanks for the good article, Anne.
You can learn more about Anne K. Albert at her Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Goodreads, Pinterest and Amazon.
10 comments:
Anne: You are correct. If you aren't surprised by your characters, neither will the readers. My characters surprise me as does the plot and it comes out much better than I could have ever planned. Great post!
Wendy
W.S. Gager on Writing
I don't plot, but I write a lot of notes along the way. And yes, the characters always have a lot to say and do about what is going to happen.
Thanks, Wendy. I'm always relieved when I learn another author is a pantser. It adds credence to my own method!
When I'm stuck, Marilyn, I often grab a pen and sheet of paper. I'll record my thoughts and they help me make sense of where I am in the story, where I want to be, and then, I'll return to the actual writing.
The really strange thing, at least I think it's strange, is I never refer to those notes again. and 9 times out of 10 what follows next in the story has nothing to do with those notes!
I've learned to just accept it. They served their purpose and allowed me to continue writing. What more could I want?!
I smiled as I read this, Anne. You admire people who can plot, then write, and I admire people like you who can sit down in front of a blank page and create.
I guess it's kind of like short people who wish they were taller and tall people who would give anything to be shorter. But, as you said, there is no "right" way to write. Each of us has to figure out what works for us.
You hit the nail on the head, Pat. We always want our reality to be different. For instance, I've dragged around a few extra pounds since I was a child. I read not too long ago our normal weight is pre-determined like our height and eye color. No matter what we do to change it, our body will eventually return to what feels right for it.
OH, how I wish that was false, but like being a plotter or pantser I think it's just who we are!
From another "panster"--so nice to know I'm not alone. Loving this tour, hearing how everyone writes, wishing to be more like some, and feeling so glad when kindred styles, like yours, are revealed. Love your post, and several times--was right there besides you!
Madeline
Glad to have you along for the ride, Mad!
I create a long synopsis of the story to keep me focused and then add lines of dialogue and plot points as I go along. It's a funny looking outline, but it works.
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