Well, In the past weekend and through the week I did work on my outline. And I did fill in many holes and expand on my ideas. Though I did not quite feel that I was done. The fact is I was having some real issues deciding what the final events of the story would be. This I think was due to my outline being much to long and complex, and I could not see the story in a nice linear fashion. What I decided on was creating an easy to see timeline of events with pertinent information listed under each event. This help immensely! By going through my outline and listing the events in order along with events that happened congruently I was able to see and fill in more gaps to the story. Now I am happy to say that the first draft of my outline and timeline is complete. I say first draft because I plan on rewriting both the outline and time line at least two more times.
I have taken the path of one of my favorite authors; Terry Brooks, when it comes to planning and organizing a story. In his memoir / writing guide; Sometimes the Magic Works, he divulged a major piece of his writing process:
Read, Read, Read
Outline, Outline, Outline
Write, Write, Write
Repeat
A lengthy a difficult process for sure. But like all things worth doing, hard work is involved. And in this case, some of the hardest work I have ever done. When in doubt, seek out an expert.
2 comments:
Hello, I am a one-time roommate of Raanan in Jerusalem, and a fellow writer. Though the longest story I wrote was 65 pages, give or take, and I am yet unpublished, I write a minimum of, say, 10 pages a week for recreation. Organizing background and characters/races/what have you for stories is something I've spent even more time on, and I like to think that I'm starting to get the hang of it.
In terms of fantasy novels, I have 1 in the works at about 40 pages in (it's indefinitely on hold) and 1 that I aborted at around 65 pages (wrote it as a teenager, 8 years ago).
If you have any specific questions or techniques that you've come across that you would like to share, please let me know.
Pleasure to "meet" you,
-Ari
Hi Ari,
Thanks for stopping by! And be sure to tell my cousin hello from me.
I look forward to seeing you here and I am sure I will have many questions for you soon.
Check back often.
-JDavidBodzin
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