Before I continue on with Part 2 of this three-part "...On Writing" blog series (the first part of which can be read here), let me repeat from the previous entry: While I am having my first novel published next year, I am no authority on writing. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do or what to write. The purpose of these blogs is to encourage writers. Encourage them to continue and not give up. Encourage them to finish. Which is what Part 2 is all about.
I'm being completely straight (no B.S.) when I say the most important part of writing is to get to THE END. And so, because reaching THE END is so important, this next digit on my "Top Ten List of Things I've Learned and Have Helped Me in Regards to Writing" gets its own entry.
4. Finish
When you sit down with a blank sheet of paper (or Word document) and are about to commit yourself and your time to this brand new writing project brewing in your head, you're quite excited to begin, right? You've got a great story that you feel is fresh and exciting, you maybe even jotted down some notes on Post-its or in a separate notebook for story or character reference. You begin filling the first page and feel the words; the description, the narration, the dialogue; pouring out of you. You see sentences then paragraphs taking up space as you move on to more pages. You get one chapter under your belt. The next day you get another. And another.
Days, weeks go by.
Then it happens.
You hit a wall.
Suddenly you don't know what to do. The story has stalled, or you begin to notice a character is not behaving how you originally thought. A portion of the plot is meandering away from where you planned, or there was a thread you forgot all about and don't know how to re-insert it into the story. You go back and read a few pages and find the writing stinks. Whatever the issue is, you find yourself dreading continuing on because now it feels more work than fun. The initial spark that fueled you is gone. At this point it's easier to quit.
I cannot tell you how to fix this, or any other issue. You'll do what you want and what feels right. What I can do is share with you how I get past such...speed bumps...and how I make it to THE END.
First, I plot. I know a lot of writers (probably half) are opposed to such a practice. There are writers out there, very gifted, who can construct a story from beginning to end all while they work. They don't know where the story is going; they just make it happen. Like magic.
I'm not that kind of writer. I have to know where my story is going. I have to know how my protagonist will fare throughout. I have to know my message gets across. If anything, plotting allows me the freedom and relief to know my time spent on the story won't be in vain. I won't hit a dead-end. In fact, plotting not only helps me with connecting the dots of the story's events but also helps me know more about the characters and their motivations before I begin.
I need to mention that when I plot, I don't prepare every moment of the story. I begin with the simple Plot Structure Diagram (where I jot notes down about the Exposition, the Hook, the Rising Action, Climax, Falling action, and Resolution)
and then, once I know the story from one end to the other, I jot down ideas whenever I get them - further filling out the story.
What I note is mostly the big story and character arcs throughout. Like I said, I don't prepare every moment. There are times my characters go somewhere, do something that I hadn't planned but seemed natural for them. I let those instances happen. Stories shouldn't feel forced. Then, when they're ready, my characters rejoin the structure - again, when it's natural for them to do so.
I should also mention that before I even begin to write a story, I know the ending. The ending is the most crucial part of the story because it ties up and concludes all the plot threads, all the conflict (internal and external). In knowing the ending, I can place clues throughout the text; I can be assured the ending makes sense with everything that came before it so that it doesn't seem out of character or simply made up out of thin air because I ran out of ideas. I try to make the climax the only natural finish.
Now, there are times (a lot more than I'd like) when I find inconsistencies as I'm working on the first draft. Maybe the name of a place changed, a character does something (either intelligent or stupid) but it's never mentioned again (heck, I've even had a character disappear), etc. Let me tell you: That's OK! From a writer's standpoint, your first draft is going to be terrible. You won't be happy with it in terms of content. It'll be riddled with errors and too much description and some awkward dialogue, to say the least. But you know what else your first draft will have? It'll have every idea you had for the story contained in its pages. That's what editing and draft 2, 3, 4, 5 and so on is all about!
You know what will make you most happy about that first draft?
That you got to write THE END.
Part 3 of this blog coming soon.
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