I will reveal these to you, Gentle Reader, if only as an avenue to discuss writing.
I have recently gotten on the Board Bandwagon.
I have always been a fan of post-its (I am sure I have supported several execs’ children through college due to my Obsession with All Things Post-It), and a fan of organization, but I am not a fan of organizing my writing. I tend to write without outlines, without character sketches, and sometimes, without any idea what I’m going about at all.
But now that The Novel is Under Review (*nervous nail biting*) and now that The Sequel is being written (*fingers chewed to quick*) I have found myself needing the organization that only dry erase boards, corkboards, and post-its can bring.
I am trying to keep on top of my characters, asking such questions of my post-its as “Where is Alexandra? Where has she been?” and “WAIT PATIENTLY” (that one is really for me). But is it not advice to all of us, to wait patiently as the ideas are written, and rewritten, and rewritten a few more times? I wrote the first draft of The Novel in 2003, and the only thing, the ONLY things that remain the same are a) the title, b) the protagonist’s first name and (sort of) occupation (for lack of a better word).
I have met young writers who do not understand that rewriting is the more important process than the discovery. If not just to rediscover your characters and their motives; I sometimes do not think I understand them at all until I’ve blown up my book and put it back together in a different direction, with different pieces. A late addition to one of the last few rewrites is a character who has become a major force in My Trilogy, and when I try to imagine my books without Mellie, they make no sense whatsoever.
(I assure you, Friend, that Mellie is a rather innocuous name for a rather not so innocuous character).
What are your writing quirks? What do you use to keep yourself on track?
Like what you’ve read? Visit my website at The Life and Times of the Postmodern Bluestocking.
The Postmodern Bluestocking 