Twin Moment

Writers. Twins. Biologically unrelated. Laughing at
ourselves (and each other), listening to amazing
music, and living life epically. We present, our blog.
Prepare to be astounded.

Is This the Same Me?

Written and posted by Maggie at 9:43 PM
I wanted to blog quickly to announce a sudden and wonderful change in me.

I'm plotting.

Okay, okay, before the celebration begins, let me back up and explain a few things so you're not totally lost. Firstly, that I've given up -- okay, let's be less harsh. I've set aside Sovereignty for now because I just wasn't feeling it, and I had multiple people counsel me that if I don't love it, readers won't either. Thus, it was useless to keep pushing through. Secondly, this allowed me to do what I really wanted to do: write my new story idea!! (Two exclamation points, even!)

I recently learned a few (okay, maybe more than that!) things about my writing. Things I already partially knew but finally realized really needed addressing. One of those being plot structure, another showing instead of telling (I tell people all the time to show more than tell but I can't see it in my own writing!?), and yet another being the need for everyone to have a clear goal and motivation (that's a big one). Oh, and to make sure my main characters aren't passive.

Armed with this knew knowledge (and very determined), I read some of Save the Cat, and (with assistance, of course) filled out my first Beat Sheet. I don't know if that gets caps or not, but I gave it some.

Being a Panster (yes, caps again), this was amazingly difficult for me to jump in to. However, I think I succeeded. I now have completely plotted out my new story idea, and after some more world building and character developing, it'll be ready to write. Add a cartwheel of excitement here. If I could cartwheel. Which, I can't. *stares*

Anyhow, that's my lovely little dancing-with-excitement update. Plotting feels wonderful, especially since it all went so smoothly. I'm eager beyond words to begin this next stage of my writing journey. As usual, whenever I grow as a writer it feels like one step closer to being published. Because it is.

I hope you've all had at least half the amazing Thursday I did.

If you feel like sharing, I'd love some feedback. Do you plot? Have you used Beat Sheets before? Tell me about your experiences with them.

Best Part of Today: Plotting. The thunderstorm. How about plotting during the thunderstorm??
Currently Craving: Sleep. Sleep. SLEEP.
Music Pick: "Sticks and Stones" by Jason Reeves
I'm Reading: "Graceling" by Kristin Gashore
WATM: Plotting and preparing Blink (yes, that's only a working title :P)


Labels: , , ,

3 epic comments:

Anonymous
July 22, 2011 at 12:08 AM

I used to be a COMPLETE pantser. I'd start out with a line that I thought was cute or witty and then I'd go from there.

That got me absolutely nowhere.

Lately, I've been doing A LOT of writing research and I feel like I have really learned a lot.

I used to have the exact same problems that you listed, too. Passive characters, telling instead of showing (It was BAD for me) and definitely DEFINITELY the motivation and goals thing. I also had issues with flat characters (I know! Could I possibly get any worse?)

But plotting has seriously helped me so much with my new WIP (It's called Living in the Shadows) and I think I may actually get to write "The End" this time! Fingers crossed!

One thing I learned that was EXTREMELY essential, though, is knowing your subplots and having a really healthy balance between them in a story!

-GabbiCalabrese

 
Constance
July 22, 2011 at 12:41 AM

I am proud of you, Twin! As a fellow Pantser/sometimes-semi-Plotter, I know how hard plotting can be. But you're enjoying it! That's wonderful!!! (<- THREE exclamations)

And you know what it is you need to fix in your writing. That's more than I can say for me, aside from my filling-in issues(which are blatantly obvious xD).

You impress me more every day. ^^

And, BTW, I think "Blink" is a good title. And "Graceling" was a darn decent book, overall.

*hugs*



 
Maggie
July 22, 2011 at 7:23 AM

@Gabbi Wow, that's awesome! I'm glad you're not still stuck in the pantser thing because it sure does handicap you. And that's so true about the subplots. I'm still working on that, too. *crosses fingers for you* Writing 'The End' is SO satisfying.

Thanks for reading!

@Twin *HUGS* Thanks Twin. Three exclamation points are SO much better than one! *smiles*

 

Post a Comment

Comments! They make our hearts sparkly. Feel free to leave LOTS. We're all for comment spam-age.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)