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| Ellie de Lacy's miniature books. Pic Rob Tysall. |
We all
want our written work to be word perfect, but that comes with re-writing,
honing, polishing and editing. Some writers like to get every sentence perfected
before moving on to the next, others just rattle away getting their thoughts
down to work on them later.
There’s
no right or wrong method. Whatever works best for you. Also, you might vary
your methods depending on what you’re writing.
It’s
worth knowing that sometimes it’s not until you get well into your story or
novel that you realise what it is you’ve been trying to say. And if
you've been spending months labouring over getting early chapters word perfect,
you may realise that much of this will have to be changed, deleted, added to,
or moved elsewhere. So, all that time trying to make it word perfect has been
wasted.
Additionally, if you’ve sweated blood over every word and
sentence, you might be a bit precious about what you've written and be
reluctant to change it, even when you know you need to. So, remind yourself
that the first draft is for your eyes only.
It's hard to write
perfect prose straight off. Far easier to rattle out the story, skipping
through the areas you don't yet know, or still have to research. Don't let gaps
in your knowledge delay your writing and hold you up. It doesn't matter if your
entire manuscript is littered with reminders to yourself to 'find out'. The important thing is to get your story written - and then perfect it.
Saying that, we all
work differently. Some writers plan meticulously, others write ‘by the seat of
their pants’. You might do a bit of both – which tends to be how I write. Very
often, once I’ve had an idea for a story, I have to start writing it. Thousands
of ‘first draft’ words may get written before I realise I actually need to
plan. The story may be becoming more complex, characters need stronger back
stories, maybe the storyline is wavering or losing focus.
If this happens to you, then a bullet point plot may be a good idea. You
could even envisage how the ending might be
and work backwards. The thing with plotting, whether you plot before you make a
start, or halfway through writing, nothing is written in stone. You can change
whatever you like, whenever you like.
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| You're not writing in stone. |
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Bullet point
lists
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A numbered list,
say 1-50, then slot in major scenes roughly where they should come in the great
scheme of things.
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A chart, digital
or on paper, using colours to indicate the rising and falling of drama or
emotion.
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A chart showing
how different character’s stories are entwining.
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Post-it notes –
nice and easy to move around.
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Write a detailed
synopsis for your eyes only. (An edited version might come in handy for when
you’re submitting the finished book to a publisher!)
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A list of
characters showing their appearance, personality, background etc.
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A timeline –
useful whether you’re writing a saga covering years, or just a fleeting moment.
(Hint and a bit of a spoiler – read the classic Pincher Martin by William Golding)
Reasons to plot and plan
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I’m sure even
writers who say they never plot, actually do, even if only in their head.
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Don’t be afraid
to plot and plan – you can change things as you go. It’s not written in stone.
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Plotting can help
you avoid writers block.
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Planning helps
you to avoid writing yourself into a dead end.
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Plotting can show
you the whole arc of your story.
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By planning you
can see the high and low spots of a story.
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Plotting will
show if the drama is continually rising.
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Plotting and
planning helps you get the pace of the story how you want it.
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Plotting and
planning helps you identify likely problems.
