My last post got me thinking about different ways to begin a project. When I’m advising new writers on how to begin a memoir, I tell them to think of an event and just sit down and write it as a scene (or in essay form if they aren’t ready yet to write scenes). Then do another and another and soon you’ll have some material to work with BEFORE worrying about an outline. Now that I’ve completed one book, however, I plan to use a different process next time. I plan to really work out the plot and outline BEFORE I write any scenes. Because what happens when you write the scenes first is you fall in love with some of them and try to work the plot around those scenes in order to keep them rather than working the scenes around the outline of the story. Which makes for a crappy plot and a lot of heartbreak once you realize, after multiple revisions, that you need to scrap those scenes and start over.
What about you? What is your process for starting a new project? Where do you begin?
I used to be a "panster," but now I am a planner. I follow the Six Stage Plot Structure (more commonly used in screenplays, but honestly, if you look closely at any novel or good story, you can probably see it) – http://www.screenplaymastery.com/structure.htm – to map out the key phases and turning points in my story. From there, I do think scenically (as opposed to by chapters) because that's just how I've always "seen" my books.
"Because what happens when you write the scenes first is you fall in love with some of them and try to work the plot around those scenes in order to keep them rather than working the scenes around the outline of the story."
Couldn't agree more!
Good luck trying out the new process!
Because I write mysteries. I have to think very carefully about the plot and so I use outlines.
Very important for me.
Great post.
CD
Kristan – I learned a lot from Robert McKee's Story, but I'll have to check out your link. Interesting, isn't it, that we learn plot from screenwriting teachers?
Clarissa – A real Draper! Are you a Mad Men fan? Does everyone ask you that? I'm glad to hear both you and Kristan are plotting and outlining before you begin to write. I hope it works for me, too.
I come up with my idea first, then think about it. Then I try to determine the stakes, the conflict, and the goal of the main character (and of course, who the main character is!). If I'm not certain of how the idea will play out, like on my current story, then I just write with those parameters in mind. The once I see where the story is going, I outline it.
I guess the outline is always subject to change, but I do generally have an idea of how the story will end, and what the high (and low) points are, in my head.
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