Be Still and Know...What Your Plot Is
Friday, November 20. 2009
Wow, it's so difficult for me to set aside time just to sit and ponder. I did manage to do that at least once this week, though—I spent about an hour relaxing outdoors, enjoying the wonderful Florida November weather, feeling the sunset...and making notes.
I have to do this more often.
Once I allowed myself to calm down, disconnect from the "real world," and explore my fantasy world in my head, the discoveries I was able to make in only an hour's time were amazing. I "learned" things about my characters' motivations that suddenly made some of their stranger actions understandable. I saw how all the varied parts of my setting were connected at a fundamental level, and what that meant for some of the answers my protag was still seeking. Most importantly, I drew a complete plot arc, and a new fundamental truth (theme) appeared.
The flame's fanned again, and I'm excited to see how this novel's going to turn out, whether it will get its message(s) across effectively and enjoyably. Of course, I have to do about three hours of work a day for the rest of the month to make my goal of 50 hours of novel toil for November.
This week, I also discovered a great new tool for writing down and keeping track of ideas, plot points, etc. It's called "pen and paper," and it's revolutionary. The user interface is so intuitive! And its freeform input capabilities are amazing. Can't seem to get the search or online help to work, though...perhaps in v2.0.
Wow, it's so difficult for me to set aside time just to sit and ponder. I did manage to do that at least once this week, though—I spent about an hour relaxing outdoors, enjoying the wonderful Florida November weather, feeling the sunset...and making notes.
I have to do this more often.
Once I allowed myself to calm down, disconnect from the "real world," and explore my fantasy world in my head, the discoveries I was able to make in only an hour's time were amazing. I "learned" things about my characters' motivations that suddenly made some of their stranger actions understandable. I saw how all the varied parts of my setting were connected at a fundamental level, and what that meant for some of the answers my protag was still seeking. Most importantly, I drew a complete plot arc, and a new fundamental truth (theme) appeared.
The flame's fanned again, and I'm excited to see how this novel's going to turn out, whether it will get its message(s) across effectively and enjoyably. Of course, I have to do about three hours of work a day for the rest of the month to make my goal of 50 hours of novel toil for November.
This week, I also discovered a great new tool for writing down and keeping track of ideas, plot points, etc. It's called "pen and paper," and it's revolutionary. The user interface is so intuitive! And its freeform input capabilities are amazing. Can't seem to get the search or online help to work, though...perhaps in v2.0.
I have to do this more often.
Once I allowed myself to calm down, disconnect from the "real world," and explore my fantasy world in my head, the discoveries I was able to make in only an hour's time were amazing. I "learned" things about my characters' motivations that suddenly made some of their stranger actions understandable. I saw how all the varied parts of my setting were connected at a fundamental level, and what that meant for some of the answers my protag was still seeking. Most importantly, I drew a complete plot arc, and a new fundamental truth (theme) appeared.
The flame's fanned again, and I'm excited to see how this novel's going to turn out, whether it will get its message(s) across effectively and enjoyably. Of course, I have to do about three hours of work a day for the rest of the month to make my goal of 50 hours of novel toil for November.
This week, I also discovered a great new tool for writing down and keeping track of ideas, plot points, etc. It's called "pen and paper," and it's revolutionary. The user interface is so intuitive! And its freeform input capabilities are amazing. Can't seem to get the search or online help to work, though...perhaps in v2.0.
Jimmy Anderson on :
http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2008-02-11-n78.html