Monday, March 18, 2013

Confessions of a Novel Planner

The Guinness Factory in Dublin, Ireland
So there are two methods writers use when they sit down to write their stories. They either go the planning route or the pantster route. Pansters just sit down and let their fingers and imaginations fly. I envy them. Planners like myself are methodical and precise. We get an idea, then we take it, expand on it, create characters, plan out their entire backstories down to their first kiss or favorite song, then and only then do we start to write our novels.

Let me tell you my journey to becoming a planner.

When I first attempted to sit down and write a full fledged novel it was November of 2010, and I was studying abroad in Manchester, England. NaNoWriMo started during Reading Week. Its the British version of Spring Break during the fall. My flatmates and I had planned a trip to Ireland and since I had never been I certainly wasn't going to pass up the chance to go.

I had an absolute blast. I mean I grew up in Europe so I've traveled a fair amount in Germany and Sweden and other places, but this was the first time I was doing it an an adult and on my own. It was much sweeter the second time around. Well except for getting drunk, but that is neither here nor there.

So back to my original point. Since I knew I was going to be on vacation when NaNo started I didn't really plan out my novel. I just had a basic concept with a few key characters. I felt that was enough to get started and carry me for 50,000 words and 30 days. So the clock struck midnight and I started writing. I felt good. This was my first time attempting an actual novel and boy was I excited! The world was a wonderful place and the Yellow Brick Road was beckoning me onward.

The first day went swimmingly. I hit the work count and everything. The next day we were off to Ireland. I brought my laptop so I could have a working vacation. It worked out wonderfully. I hit my word count every day. I got back from my Ireland trip and I went to a few write-ins at the KroBar and things like that and still everything was going good.

Then I hit a snag. My main character Dasher Lemon, hey I still like that name thank you very much needed a backstory with her nerdy neighbor and I couldn't come up with it. The rest of the story as I soon found out depended on this backstory so I couldn't just  push past it or write around it. So I had to stop and try to figure out their past relationship. Well a few minutes turned into hours and those hours turned into dancing the night away at Tiger,Tiger to find inspiration. I went to bed thinking I could come up with something in the morning after a good night's rest. Well that didn't work out so well. To make a long story short I and my novel stalled out at 15k words.

I learned a lot from that first NaNo experience. I learned that above anything it frustrates me to the gates of Hades when I don't know something about my characters or my stories. That blank hole mocks me and distracts me. When I'm frustrated and distracted am about as good as the Buffalo Bills in the Superbowl. And for all you non-sports fans that is about as good Sheldon Cooper battling a chicken.

So Nano 2011 came rolling around. I told myself that during October I would take then time to plan out my novel and see how that went. I had tried to pansters route and it had slapped me around like a redheaded stepchild. It stood to reason that if something doesn't work try something else.

I plotted and I planned. In 2011 I won my first NaNoWriMo. I ran across that finish like three days before Nov 30 and victory was oh so sweet. Like cookies and cream sweet. I found my groove and his name was Planner.

Now you might be asking, 'How do you plan.' And that my friend is an excellent question *hands you a cookie*

I start with a simple one line plot and a main character. My main characters are always black females. I'm a black female that loves fantasy and I'm getting fed up with all the main characters being white. Since I'm the author I can write what I want. So there it is.

Then the real fun starts. I expand on my simple one liner and I make it a proper plot. I like to know the beginning and the end of my book. I have to see where I'm going to know how to get there. Once the plot it settled. Well it can change but I like it to be as settled as it can be to help my anxiety. Then I create my cast of characters.

Two of my plotting composition books
I always start with a name. A rose by any other name just wouldn't get the job done if anyone bothered to ask me. For me a name either makes or breaks a character. I've been know to put a book down when the character names just aren't doing it for me. Modelland by Tara Banks is a prime example. Tookie De La Creme has got to be the worst name for a character that I've come across in a good long while and that includes Mindy the Model (sorry Stan Lee). I like to have unusual and rememberable character names. I can't name my character Elizabeth or Jessica or Sarah. Those names are just so vanilla. No offense to anyone with those names. They just don't do anything for me and I would never use them. My latest creation is August Eden Grimm, and I am in love with her already.

I create families and backstories for all my characters. I don't know if I will use that, but I have to have a character's backstory. I mean their past is what has created this character. I may use their family or I may just mention them. Either way I need to know these things. Sometimes it takes a lot to get that out of my story or my characters.

Sometimes they don't want to talk to me.

After I get all of that done then I'm ready to start plotting out the story. Yes I have the simple one liner and then I have the expanded plot, but I like to have my actual chapters planned out. I do what some would call summaries. I do one or two scenes so that I know what's going on in that chapter and how it connects the chapter before it and after it to each other and then overall plot.

This is the most exciting part of the ride for me. Surprises pop up around every corner. New characters and plot twists pop up. My plot may change or it might expand. I never know what's going to happen when I get to this point. This is the most crucial part of the planning however. I'm plot focused and I have characters that enhance the plot and not characters who drive the plot if that makes sense.

I'm one of those people that love essay tests because it gives me a chance to write down everything that I know about any given subject. I'm that annoying kid that uses an entire blue book for the exam. So if I just sit down and write I will write and write and write without an end insight. Sometimes that is a good thing and sometimes its not. When you need to get to a point and get to it in 320 pages while entertaining someone you have make every word, every page count. So to rein in my rambling imagination I have to keep it in check with my planning.

There are some out there that swear by worksheets, character sketches and all that jazz. I mean if that's how you plan then do you honey. Writing is personal and what works for me might work for you or it might not. Don't think you have to do exactly what I do. I'm a uniquely created woman. One of a kind. how I get to the mountain top should not be the only trail that is blazed. You feel me? I don't use worksheets because I don't want to try and fit myself, my novel, my characters, my plot into someone else's mold. That's just not me. I like my method of panster planning.

Now I can just hear you saying, "But that sucks the soul out of writing." I can see where you are coming from if you as a panster sort of person, but I feel like my writing comes alive once I start writing. I take all of my plans and my pages and I use my computer to bring them to life. When I plan out a chapter and a scene comes up that I like I can't wait to get there so I can finally write it. That anticipation makes for a better scene for me. They say sex works the same way but I still can't see it.

I hate looking at that blinking cursor and making plans helps me battle that foul beast. So I am a novel planner hear me roar!

No comments:

Post a Comment