Friday, March 8, 2013

Glad Tidings

If you have not noticed it is Friday and at least one of us is thrilled. That'd be me. It has been a very pretty but cold day and I'm not sure if the weather is responsible for my improved disposition or if I got a better night's sleep. I did go to bed a bit earlier because I couldn't hold my head up any longer.

I had grand intentions of working on my WIP and I did do some work. But it seems so little that I am a bit discouraged. I mentioned my lunch last week with my friend, Doug, somewhere back there behind the root vegetables. You'll have to move that crate of apples but it's there. Anyway, Doug gave me a rough sketch of a way to plot out my story arcs. It made perfect sense at lunch... when I didn't take notes.... and had only an hour to grasp it. When I later mentioned it to him, and the fact that I totally forgot most of what he said, he then, kindly and as a true friend, met me in a hangout and reviewed it again. I took notes this time and he even shared his worksheet of his own story with me. He'd actually done that in his email before but I had not scrolled far enough down the email to see the attachment. Why does Gmail put them at the bottom that way?

So, after going over it with Doug, I set about trying my hand at it. The problem is I have to sort out some things now in the back story. As I filled in my excel chart, I realized I probably now have enough to write that story, too. I'm not doing it. But I begin to get a clearer sense of what was happening and why.

I like Doug's chart idea. He got the idea from a video by Dan Wells called Story Structure The link will take you to the playlist I have of it. I actually have watched this last year but things being what they are, don't remember a thing. I'm going to watch again, I think.

Anyway, the chart does help me see connections and make connections. So, I've started with the back story and plan to work my way all the way to the current story. It will be a very long chart. But from what I'm seeing, it clarifies a few things because as I enter data, new information and ideas keep popping up. I can see where something needs to be moved or removed. So, at least I have a plan now. It begins to look suspiciously like plotting.

Did I mention that it is Friday? I'm glad.

4 comments:

  1. Glad you're having a good day! And writing too. I need to pick my WIP up and get to it again - since I only have to fill in a few things and edit. Talk to you soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. no no no... say it isn't so.. don't tell me you're going over to the dark side!!! (ie plotting)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you so much for the links! I will try to watch one a day.

    As for plotting, that is my weakness; I stink at it. It is the only reason that I have never finished that story that I have been thinking about for about 10 years.

    ReplyDelete
  4. TGIF!! Glad it's been a good day, and that you now have a good plan for your story. Since I'm not a writer, it really means nothing to me, but I can see that it has made a difference for you! Hooray! Wishing you a good weekend!

    ReplyDelete

All comments are moderate because of increased SPAM.