The process for writing this novel is of course different than any novel I’ve written before this. A huge part of that is due to the fact that I wrote out a proposal for this novel, before I wrote the novel. Sometimes I do a brief outline — the proposal had a lot more information than just an outline.
I wrote the proposal for this novel using the Mamet style, what he uses for writing proposals:
1. Who wants something from someone?
2. What happens when they don’t get it?
3. Why now?
Not for the first time, when I’ve been stuck on a scene or a chapter, I go back to these questions to help me outline what I need to write next. It makes for a very active protagonist, I’ve found. Plus one who interacts more with others. What she wants isn’t nebulous or theoretical. It’s specific and active.
One of the things these questions help me figure out is the emotional heart of a scene. The story is already there in the proposal. What’s missing is a lot of the smaller motivations, as well as the emotional drive. It’s very interesting the parts I keep finding I need to fill in, that aren’t in the proposal, and that honestly don’t need to be there. The story is complete without them, but the novel isn’t.
Another part of the process that I’ve been developing is how to plan that next scene or chapter. For this novel I’m trying to write the entire thing on the computer. I’ve been successful with that so far. But I’ve also found I stumble sometimes. I can’t always figure out what needs to happen next while writing on the computer. Occasionally I’ve been on fire, but it’s because I know where I’m going. And I’m in that blasted middle of the book, which is always tricky for me.
So I’ve started doing more plotting. I can’t write out plot on the computer. Just hasn’t been working for me. I need to feel like I’m jumping off that cliff. So I’ve started writing the plot by hand, doodling scenes and things.
Boy has that been successful.
Because I know exactly where I’m going, I hit that 1000 words an hour pace when I sit down to type. And I can sustain it.
So yes, more tweaks to the process. Write out the plot by hand, then type up the actual novel. Takes a little more time, but not a lot. I’m so very used to writing out plot by hand.
Which I need to go do more of, right now.