Drawing from the Well
Queries Sent: 1
Total Queries: 17
Rejections: 2
Scenes Arranged: 14
Total Scenes: 251
I did it! I got through the Midpoint last night. I didn’t get any further because I had to lay out all the high points. My general approach to Scening right now is when I finish an eighth-point (the actual Pinch and Plot points), I jot down on one side of a note card what the next eighth-point is for each major story line on the back of a note card. I then use that as reference to lay out the events I need to take me from the just-finished eighth-point to the next eighth-point. THEN I start mapping out the scenes in yWriter. Lather-rinse-repeat. It’s worked four times so far so why stop now?
The point (ha ha) is that I made it to a significant milestone for myself. Yes, that’s bigger than a major milestone. Every eighth-point is a major milestone; the Midpoint was bigger than that. At this point in the story, something…let’s call it life-altering…happens and it changes the course of the story (like ya do). In fact, this was so significant that it was the original climax of the first book (see how much changes in editing?). From here, things are going to get really fun!
Filling the Well
1984: 6:50/11:30 (59%)
A Good War: Page 62/92 (66%)
I made a little headway, but not much. The focus yesterday was on writing, which was awesome. I guess after a hardcore day of filling the well, my brain was primed to lay out a LOT of story. Today will probably be more in balance.
Polishing the Well
Last night was quiet. My wife curled up on the couch with a book and I wrote like a mad man. It was a lovely, quiet night.
Before that, we had dinner with the kids and watched the latest episode of The Flash which is pretty good, but definitely not the best season.
Well Chat
Doing Things the Old Fashioned Way
For Blog 2 in this series, I want to start at the oldest, simplest way to write: on paper. As I mentioned above, I still use pencil and paper. It’s in the form of note cards, but we’ll get to that later. For me, right now, the note cards are just small enough that I can handle it easily and I can’t run away with too many words. Quick. Concise. Move on. So, for me, right now these note cards are like tiny notebooks. We will talk about a different use for note cards tomorrow.
With all the modern advances and conveniences, why would you want to use paper? Isn’t that slower? And bulkier? And you can lose stuff?
Yes, those are all drawbacks, but there are some very real benefits. When you’re typing, it’s brain to screen. The keyboard is just the conduit for getting the words down. Yes, it’s creation, but not in the same way that handwriting is. Creating something by hand IS art. The creation itself is art at soon as you write it. Your handwriting is unique and yours. Pouring yourself into your work is part of the definition of art.
In addition, the tactile process of writing creates a deeper, more vivid memory of the writing itself. Having that will help you remember the details as you move through the book. Multi-sensory input is the key to strong memories. If you’ve ever smelled a certain food and remembered the first or most romantic time you ate it, that’s a multi-sensory memory. If you hear a song and tear up because it reminds you of someone’s funeral, that’s a multi-sensory memory. So by coupling the touch of pencil or pen to paper with the thought exercise of writing, you just created a multi-sensory memory. Run specific smells or play certain songs and you’re adding layers to that same memory, strengthening it.
It is slower to write things by hand, but there are these benefits. There are some authors who draft exclusively by hand for these reasons and more. So don’t be afraid of pen and paper. After all, the pen IS mightier than the sword.
May the tide carry you to safer shores.
BSG