And no, I’m not talking about your ergonomic desk chair that saves your back as your fingers fly. Or your cushy, floral print chair that you curl up in to eat bon-bons as you dictate the next awesome tome to your private secretary before a private tennis lesson with a guy who looks awesome shirtless (because, hey, that’s how we live, right?). (And, yes, that was my excuse to post a hunky guy picture…)
(As an aside, this pic is from a site called Hunk du Jour. As of right now, right above this guy is an ad for the online curriculum I use for Catherine’s history and art classes. I think that says something, but I’m not sure what…)
No, I’m talking about what you have to know before you sit down to write. What level of story comfort do you have to have before you start plugging away at the manuscript.
When I first stumbled upon this as an issue, I was surprised how many writers trip over it. I’ve taught some writing classes and conducted some workshops, and I’m often faced with the “when do you start writing your story” question. Sometimes it comes in the form of, “do I need to have character dossiers filled out first?” or “do I need to write a detailed synopsis?” or “should I have notecards of every scene all laid out and ready to go?”
Not a question I can answer, because the answer is: Whatever works for you.
And no, I’m not intentionally being snarky. But I do think a lot of writers get hung up in having it all worked out before they put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, and I really do think that’s a shame, because I find that so much of the story experience comes through in the writing, not the outlining or initial brainstorming. (I say “initial” because I tend to halt at various places within the writing process, ponder for what seems like forever, but may be as short as ten minutes, then call one of my brainstorming friends — usually Ms. O’Reilly — and we’ll bat about whatever point it is that I’m unhappy with or want to shift, alter, change, whatever. But that process is the most useful when I’m caught up in the grip of the story.)
To give you an example of “story discoveries” – in my recent release, Tainted, Lily’s sister plays a huge role. Not by taking up space on the page (she’s barely in the book), but by being in Lily’s thoughts and motivating her actions. In the original outline of the book (a 10 page single spaced synopsis, I might add), Lily had essentially moved on and was barely impacted by her sister at all. In retrospect, I can’t imagine Lily without the emotional impact of Rose. And yet I wrote an entire proposal–and sold the book–without finding that critical detail. Instead, I had to find it in the writing.
Similarly, in When Blood Calls, coming out in 2010, I added two major subplots that were not in the very detailed synopsis that I wrote. And now I can’t imagine the book without them. (Which begs the question of why I write such long synopses. Apparently once I get going, I just can’t shut up. Are you still reading? I’m still typing….)
Obviously, I write synopses of my stories before I sit down to write the book, but those are actually sales tools at this point in my career, and some books I’ve sold on a blurb, and I have not gone back and written out a synopsis. Instead, I’ve simply dived into the book.
But whether it’s diving into the book or diving into the synopsis, either way it’s dipping your toe into the story, and for me, there are a few key elements that I have to have before I can do that. So for me, my comfort zone elements are:
1) A basic understanding of the hero and heroine. (Basic personality, basic conflict. Often, this will change/expand/alter).
2) The overarching story idea. (She’s running from a serial killer; he’s the cop trying to catch the killer)
3) The opening.
4) The ending (more than “they lived happily ever after” but not necessarily too much more.
5) At least one point on the way from the opening to the ending.
In other words, if I’m going to Disneyland, I need to know who’s in the car with me, and if I’m going through New Mexico and Arizona, or if I’m cutting up and doing Colorado, Utah and Nevada. Once those bits are in my head, though, I put my fingers on the keys. Because once the fingers start to fly, even more ideas sprout. And that, I find, is the magic of writing.
So how about y’all? How much do you need to know to be in your comfort zone for starting a book?
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
My process is much the same as yours, Julie. I have to know the characters and have a really good idea of the major turning points, then I take off. A good part of the fun for me is discovering the story as I write it. But I need a basic framework or I waste a lot of time and churn out pages that have to be trashed later.
For me, I think in thirds — the conflict set up in the first third, what the hell are they going to do in the middle, and the conflict resolution in the third. This is rough, rough, rough…but it’s at least a general road map.
What I have to really think about is where the story really starts. Some of the things I see in contests, etc., is a lot of beginning writers don’t understand where the story actually starts. That’s so critical IMO. For me, it takes me a few attempts to find it, but once I know it, I can start writing.
I just start with a fig of something that I need to transform into the opening scene and I usually know at least the initial conflict between the hero and the heroine. I can write three chaps without knowing nothing about anything, but at the point I get to chapter three, I have to step back and look at the road. I think it’s important to figure out your process and respect your process. For instance, I will NEVER, EVER crank through a rough draft of a book again. Yeesh. Vomit. Hurl. Many, many lost days.
ROFL. So, um, you feel strongly about that?
You could tell???
I still remember when the hero in your second novel realized he had a brother—who knew???? LOL — great topic!
So true! Was the first, actually. Nobody Does It Better dude
The most important thing for me is knowing how I want a story to end. If I don’t have an ending, I feel like I don’t know where I’m going. Even if I only have an ending, I can building something around that much easier than if I have everything but. It’s weird.
Julie,
Enjoyed your article. A good many years ago you read one of my rough drafts, gave me some excellent advice, and I thought you’d like to know that the story you read will be my third published book. The second just came out. I still work from a rough outline–usually a single page–and a few notes on my characters. The story is more fluid for me if I don’t tie myself too tightly to the outline, but I like to know what events each chapter should contain so I can move the story along.
I’ve been so excited to see your star rise and think ‘I knew her when she first started.’ Thanks for helping me along.
Oh my gosh! How awesome is that! Congratulations (and thanks!)
My writing comfort zone doesn’t exist. I bat around ideas or I’ll have that initial spark of a thought, write it down quickly and then go from there. The story changes dramatically as I write, but a key point of the process for me is keeping all those threads woven together. As I’ve learned to write, I’ve thrown out multiple complete drafts because I can’t see a fabric in the story as it is. I hope this is a beginner thing and that it eventually goes away, but we’ll see.
Great post!
I don’t think it’s necessarily a beginner thing; I’ve talked with lots of writers who do that, and I think it’s a process by which you really fine tune your project. So don’t necessarily knock it!
Julie, I used a similar analogy about writing when I was talking to my daughter. I like to know my hero & heroine and a bit about their background stories. Then the story is like a train ride. You know where you are getting on the train, you know where you are getting off the train, and you may have a couple of side trips in mind before you leave, but you will also find an interesting side trip or two while riding the train.
Yes! And often those sidetrips are way cool. (Once, in a real life sidetrip, husband and I were returning home to Orange County from Palm Springs. Took a detour in Redlands, CA because the town looked cute. Turned a corner, saw a house, fell in love with it, and ended up moving there! Sold it a few years ago after having rented it upon our return to TX, but it’s still my fav of all the houses I’ve owned. Built in 1901 with a deeeeeeep clawfoot tub, and a definitely funky style. Sidetrips are good.)
My biggest problem is overcoming excuses not to just start writing. I usually get a character in my head and some dialogue and I have to work that out on the page for a bit before all the rest of it (basic understanding, plot, conflict) comes to me. But when I get that character voice in my head, I tend to ignore it for a few days as if I hope it gets a better idea of what it wants before it nags me again. It never does. I need to free write for a few pages first. I guess it’s like phoning a friend to brainstorm, only I work it out on the page instead of talking to someone else. I don’t like anyone having any say in my process until it is well established. It has to be all me (unless I’m actually working with a co-writer, then I can share).
And that young man in the shower? It was so nice of his mom to write his name on his waistband. Mateo won’t lose his undies now. So, in the shower, maybe he shouldn’t be afraid to take them off… just saying…
I didn’t used to be a talker…maybe it’s my way of rebelling against too much cyber communication? LOL. I find my process evolves. And good point about Mateo. You are so smart….