Saving Grace – Building Foundation
Last week, I began the serious business of plotting a course for the second draft of my 2009 National Novel Writing Month manuscript. After sitting idle since sometime this spring, it’s time to put the manuscript to work again.
I’m coupling story work with a second reading of James Scott Bell‘s excellent book, Plot & Structure. Exercises are included at the end of each chapter and I’m doing those, but I’m going one step further and doing some of the exercises twice, the second time for the story.
In two days of work, I finished three chapters. Not only did I get a refresher course on designing stories, but I put the information to immediate use in a hands-on manner by beginning to work out the basics on my own novel. I’ve always been one of those people who learns best when I can put information to immediate use, see how what I’ve read applies to what I do and try different things with the information in ‘the heat of the moment’.
A good amount of time and a lot of words went into the process. That doesn’t count any of the thinking, pondering, questioning and leaps of faith that were also involved.
When the work week ended, I had four legitimate plot paths for the second draft. That didn’t surprise me, since I’d considered each one of them at some point previously and because I did next to no planning for the first draft. That was strictly seat-of-the-pants writing!
Through that extended process, I identified:
- The disturbance for each of those four ideas;
- The first door of no return, which propels the main character into the story for all four;
- The second door of no return, which propels the main character into what I like to refer to as The Final Conflict; and,
- The resolution for one of the ideas.
Those are only the mile posts in the journey of novel writing; the markers for the big things that move the story. There are gaps between those mileposts. A lot of gaps. Enough gaps to get lost in.
But I do have the mileposts mapped out both in text form and in a linear diagram, both of which should help me stay on course.
The goal for the rest of the weekend is to let the story and the lessons rest and to give my subconscious time to chew on the material. Like everything else, it is easier said than done.
A good weekend to you and keep writing!
