Weekly Disclaimer Thing: Writing, like all art, is a subjective experience. Stuff that works for me won't necessarily work for you...though I hope it does, since I'd love for everyone to succeed. Can never have enough books to read! Either way, take these tips with the giant grain of salt needed to season it to your liking, since I could very well be talking out my ass.
So, last week was a little bit about Fiddling, and the bare bones of my editing process. This week will be...Outlining. (Dun dun duuuuun!)
I know people hate outlining. It can be frustrating. But you really should outline your stories. Really. Even if you're a born Pantser, you should still outline just a little bit. It makes things so much faster.
Which reminds me, I really need to re-outline my current WIP, since I'm getting lost in the middle.
And that's the thing - the outline can change. If you're in the middle of writing what you've faithfully plotted out and followed, and whatever it is you came up with doesn't actually work...change it! Do another draft! Re-outline! They're more maps than strict paths anyway. You're still in control of the story. You can scrap the whole thing and begin again, or go back and make changes...it's up to you.
Fun thing - they also help track down plot holes. Causality works (if you're looking backwards, anyway). This leads to that, which leads to this other thing...pinch points and beats and so forth go where they need to go...you'll start to get a feel of where the story is and what else it needs, and next thing you know, you're adding in bits you didn't even realize were missing.
Plus, an outline can give you a fresh take on a scene that isn't working. It's kinda nice.
For myself, I go chapter by chapter. If I've already printed it off, I'll sometimes make notes about continuity on future chapters, just to make sure I know what I'm doing.
Hope this helps!
Ps...didn't have any cat tax, so enjoy this mountain lake/sunset tax instead. I friggin' love living here.
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