Any excuse to post a picture of Spider-Man! :) During our TRW meeting on Saturday I learned some interesting things - and yes, I'm talking about the meeting again! Anyways, one of those things was that not having a complete outline in front of me as I tap away at the keyboard isn't necessarily going to kill me or my books.
I am notorious for writing 20-30 page outlines, detailing all the important facts and actions that I need to make happen. Pro: I always know what's going to happen next. Con: I change it all the time as I'm writing and feel as if all my hard work on the outline was a waste. Then I get all sad...Boo hoo! :(
So when Margaret told us at the meeting that she really doesn't write an outline - I thought - hey, I'm going to try that. Not that I didn't think I could write a book without one, it's just that I've read so many books that have said you should.
I swear I'm getting to my point... I started a new ms (Forces of Corruption) that has been playing out in my mind for quite a while. I decided that I was going to try it without an outline, and lo and behold - it's as if the character's speak louder and clearer. It's like allowing them to do what they would do without having their everything analyzed. Their actions flow naturally, seamlessly and are more believable.
So I'm loving this method! Then today I started to think about the synopsis... see where I'm going here? I haven't got the slightest clue as to what is going to happen, I really don't. So what do I do next? Do I try to figure out the end now? I wanted to submit it to a contest at the end of this month, but there's NO WAY I'll be close to the end. And, if I do make up an ending, what if it's not anything like the ending that I end up with? Can anyone help? Any suggestions?
I'm sort of in a panic - Hey, maybe the ending will come to me as I devour a box of chocolates!
2 comments:
I'm a panster so I never write outlines, so the characters for the most part run "amok", but I have an idea which way to guide the. The main plot is in my head, which is what a synopsis should cover, the main plot between the Hero and Heroine. If you have an idea what the beginning, middle and ending is then you can work your synopsis around that. Remember Margaret said that a publisher is going to penalize you if there is a small change from synopsis to finished project. Hope this helps.
Thanks Amy,
I remember her saying that too, it's just I can see the publisher thinking ummm... your not Margaret Moore, a New York Times Best Selling Author!
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