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Tuesday, July 15, 2014

When Do You Just Start?

Still here, still plotting away on my next WIP. I have a good portion of it plotted, maybe a third? Hopefully at least 15,000 words worth. I'm not really sure. I'll have to see how much it comes out to when I start writing it, which is the question of the day for the last week. "When do I stop plotting and start writing?" Do I keep plotting until I get to the general "the end" of the story? Do I put on the brakes in a day or two and dive in, confident in what I have planned, and find out what I don't know about the story through the pantsing process to continue plotting later? I see the pros and cons of both. I'm afraid of running myself dry plotting and getting tired of the story before I even get to write it. But then, how good a story could it have been if I lost interest before I started? Ugh, this learning curve is a pain.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a write-in with my critique group. One of the lovely ladies and her husband hosts lunch and writing at their beautiful wood-surrounded home. There's even a little creek with a path beside it for when you need to walk a block out. It's truly beautiful, and I'm going back for another next weekend. I guess I should try to figure out what I'm doing by then. Last time, I edited two short stories and part of my completed novel (oh lord, there was a not-as-welcome trip down memory lane. On the plus side, I've made enough progress in the last year to see what all I did wrong. On the other hand, I have so much work to do...)

Next post, I'll talk a bit about this WIP. It's not any from the list I posted of my projects last month and came out of nowhere to demand action. When a bunny wants to be written...

1 comment:

  1. I can totally relate to this because this is happening to me right now. I outlined the last 10 chapters of my WIP. I got to 50K, then had to cut lots, down to 45K and then I was depressed, thinking WTF. haha. My novels are always short too, but that's another problem. But anyway, I wrote this outline and now I'm thinking of other things (now that it's written down) and not as interested. So don't outline too much. It can prove to be a draw back. (which you've already mentioned) but again, it can happen for sure and it sucks. I tend to print it out too, which seems to help. Go outside and watch the birdies. That might spark up your writing too. Write by the creek! I bet you'll have a flood load to write there. Being off the computer does wonders for me. Good Luck with it!!!

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