One Brain Is Good, Two Brains Are Better!

Photograph by Dierk Schaefer

I started the book I'm working on a bit ago, so I discovered I didn't qualify for NaNoWriMo.  Apparently you have to start a new project and I'm not willing to deviate from my WIP at this point.  I love hearing all of your updates though and its so encouraging to see all of your word counts climb....Whew! You guys are churning out the words!


For those of you who know me...you are familiar with the extent to which I prepare to write a book. I am a planner, an outliner, a flow-chart creating, research addict. I write character threads, and subplots, and scenes in sequential order...the whole nine yards of "Type A" behavior.  


Mind you, I also do this type of thing when planning a camping trip.


Yet sometimes in the thick of a novel, when you're in the throes of the story just flowing out of your head onto the page, you hit a hiccup...and it throws you off kilter.  Maybe its a plot hole you didn't see until you were laying it all out. Maybe the character's motivation is too thin or the setting is wrong.  Perhaps you realize the story is more interesting through another POV.   


Whatever the case, you're stopped cold in your tracks.  


This happened to me recently on my current WIP. I hit a snag and didn't understand why I couldn't go forward. In the midst of complaining to my hubby, he made some remarks about my story that were bothering him.


Little tid bits that ticked at his brain and made him arch and eyebrow at my plot.  Why would the antagonist go to such lengths? How come you don't just have them do this?  That sort of thing.  It was both infuriating and enlightening. 


I realized that despite the Alpha-Readers and Beta-Readers, the critique groups, and online chat rooms...that sometimes just explaining your premise OUT LOUD to someone not in the industry is extremely helpful.


My husband wasn't reading anything. He wasn't checking for flow or choppiness. He didn't have red pen poised to strike out punctuation.  


We were just chatting in the living room over coffee. I just started telling him about my story.  He made great suggestions, raised a lot of questions I didn't realize were coming down the pike, and helped me brainstorm some great alternative scenes to try.   


So in the flurry of it all, take some time to think out loud to someone not afraid to point out where you need help.  It might make the difference between 50,000 words worth of a mess...or a great start.


Until next time...Keep Writing!

What If I Just Flip A Coin?

Decisions...decisions...they drive your plot forward. They keep your characters from stagnating out with everyday minutia. They give the story conflict. From Luke choosing to find old Ben Kenobi and ask him what the hologram princess meant to Neo’s decision to, “follow the white rabbit” choices are the kindling that ignites a story.

When I was younger, I used to love those Choose Your Own Adventure books. The kind where you read a chapter and then choose either page 78 if you engage in a shoot out with Ugly Pants Pete, or page 89 if you’re a yellow bellied loser and run off before high noon. The premise behind the books is a great one that I use when I’m stuck in a story.

I write a few strands of “what if” scenarios based on various decisions at a specific moment in my character’s journey. For instance, if my MC is faced with a threat do they run away, run towards it, run a scam on the aggressor? This helps me to see what will happen next…and gives me a bit of insight into my character’s personality as well.

There is a famous author that uses Tarot cards as sort of out-of-the-box brain storming. A friend of mine does her main character’s star chart and figures out what moon is in what house of whatever cusp. A member of a critique group I went to acutally rolled those dice from the Dungeons and Dragons games...I'm telling you - - writers are an eccentric group.

The point is that there are myriad of ways to get over a logic hump or restart a stalled storyline. What works best for you? What was a total disaster? I’d love to hear what you have to say.

By the way, don't forget to sign up for The "Secret" Blogfest over at Tara's- Midnight Ink blog. It takes place on June 30th and should be really interesting.

Until next time…Go Write!

Photograph by dearoot.  Photograph by cometstarmoon.