What Happens Next? Why does it Matter? Lessons to Think About

I live in a fictional world where the main question is often "What happens next?" What are the characters doing, where are they doing it, and why are they doing it and does what they are doing matter to them and to the story?

What happens next? Sometimes I don't know. Sometimes I think I know. Sometimes I fool myself about knowing which leads to many revisions. I believe this is because I haven't sat down with my characters and discussed why they are doing what they are doing next. What drives the characters drives the story forward.

More than anything in the past year I have learned that if I play Goddess of My Manuscript, my characters rebel. This means slowing down, looking at what I've written and asking is this really what they are doing next? How do I know for sure? Well, I don't. I just have to write it out, mull it, look at it again, and play with the story until the manuscript gels.

And even then I know that someone will come along a poke holes into what I believe has been the solution all along. First it will be critique partners. Second it will be contest judges. Third it will be editors and agents. And I know I will have to write again. And again. And again.

BUT I do know one thing--I must first write the story as I see it unfold from beginning to end before I make monumental changes to it. I must first revise it at least once before I start sending it out to my critique partners. I need to discover my story before I let other people tell me what the story should be about and mess up my relationship with my characters.

Oh, I can brainstorm. I can call up a CP and tell them I have an idea about a scene in the current WIP and what do you think? They might agree or disagree, but it's called bouncing ideas off someone to see if the ideas can work. There's not point in writing something if it won't work.

I have to be in my characters' heads. I have to think with their thoughts. I have to react as they would react. And I have to do all of this on blank pages by filling them with words. Words I have written to the best of my ability.

So here are my basic rules for writing:

1. Write the first draft for YOU and the CHARACTERS. Don't let anyone TOUCH your story or CRITIQUE IT without knowing it well enough.

2. Brainstorming is a good thing. Bounce ideas off people to see if they will gel with the story regardless of where you are in the process. They'll either be affirmed or not. BUT ultimately, it is YOUR STORY so you must decide how to fix it in the end.

3. Be prepared to MAKE CHANGES after you have completed your manuscript.

4. Even when you think you're finished--even if it you are published and have an editor--be prepared to make MORE CHANGES.

5. In romances CHARACTERS TRUMP EVERYTHING. Write them well, make them jump off the page and YOU WILL GET INTEREST. And then guess what?

6. Be prepared to make changes to YOUR CHARACTERS based on editorial and agent input.

7. Stay with your story and think about it every day so you can be open to the revelations your characters send you when you are in the shower, in the bath, driving long distances, sitting through boring meetings, putting on makeup, cleaning floors. Trust me. If you stay with your story every day, you will find ideas popping into your head at odd times.

8. Judges comments are to be taken with a grain of salt. They are NOT THE FINAL WORD. They CAN BE WRONG. They CAN BE RIGHT. But ultimately, the reason you enter a contest is to get to the FINAL JUDGE--an editor or an agent. I personally have incorporated GOOD COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS into my writing, but NEVER UNTIL I GIVE IT THOUGHT AND TIME.

9. Editors and agents send revise and resubmit letters. It is up to you to decide if they are right about their suggestions. If you decide to Revise and Resubmit, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING THEY SAY EITHER. They are giving you suggestions based on their instinct and knowledge. BUT ULTIMATELY IT IS UP TO YOUR CHARACTERS TO MOLD THE STORY.

10. Trust YOUR INSTINCTS. Trust YOURSELF. Trust YOUR CHARACTERS.

So this is what I have learned. I hope it helps. Happy Writing!

My Goals, My Motivations, My Conflicts from the Writer POV

Name of Novel: Christine's Trek toward the Golden Heart
Tagline: if you don't write the words, you'll never get published

EXTERNAL
Goal: get 50 beautiful pages written for the Golden Heart and a synopsis by the deadline, self-imposed of November 20, 2009
Motivation: because I want to have a partial ready for submission
Conflict: the story line has changed a lot since the first word were put on the page and now it's like starting from scratch making the deadline look impossible given other planned and unplanned time stealers.

INTERNAL
Goal: finishing this MS partial will bring me closer to the elusive goal of publication and I desire affirmation for all my hard work.
Motivation: I like the feeling of accomplishment and the recognition gives me hope for my future.
Conflict: I'm worried I am not good enough and the story won't work and I'll fail at reaching my goal thereby disappointing myself. What if I am a fraud? Perhaps I should throw in the towel and blame it on time problems so I don't have to face my inadequacy.

CORE: If I don't do something I'm afraid of failing, then I didn't really fail, but if I don't try my best and give it my all, I'll never know the taste of success and part of success is laying down at night knowing I gave it my all, regardless of the outcome.

So there you have it.
Now back o the drawing board.

BIF, GMC, ABC & 1,2,3

My brain is full. And for the first time since I forced my butt in a chair to write 4.5 years ago, I have no idea where to go next with this story.

Last night, for the first time, I told my husband I wasn't sure I could pull this story off. Every time I fix X, I find another problem with A, B, C and the list goes on and on. If I change her GMC, I lose his story. If I change his GMC, I lose her story.

It's a nightmare.

My original concept was so fun and light. Now I keep finding great conflicts, but I lose the fun part. I honestly don't see a way out. DH said I needed to look at it abstractly or just write and not worry about it at all. Oddly, I believe the GMC is there. I did like that he had a history where he knew who she was, but she didn't know him at all. Now if I have her know who he is at the beginning, that takes away an element of surprise, too.

It's like knitting with four balls of yarn and hitting a snag, untangling it, and finding a totally different color at the end of the line.

So I sit here, inert. Brain dead. Wondering. Worrying. In a well of doubt.

Do I scuttle it and lose $50? Write what I originally planned and the heck with the issues facing it?  Tweak it and hope for the best in regard to the GH? Or do I rework it completely and slap the title on the entry even though it no longer suits the story for the GH? AAAAACCCCKKKKK!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I read BREAK INTO FICTION. The entire thing. Front to back. Great for the next book, and it'll help with this book, but I'm not sure how much I can save. It's like throwing a lifeline to a boat with holes and too many people inside. Someone is going to drown no matter what I do.

I brainstormed. I plotted. I bought sharpie pens. I got poster board. I made gobs of notes.

But now, today, in this moment. I got nothing. Nada. It's not a writer's block. I can write. I just don't know if what I choose to write will be the right write.

Yesterday, I reread my reasons for writing the story and the original hero/heroine cards I started with and I feel the answer is lurking in them. But where? I have my fishing line out, a hook in the water, and a minnow on the end. But no nibbles are answering my line.

So today? What to do?

I'll play around with it all a bit more. I'll fill out note cards, make my GMC charts, review my brainstorming notes, go through the BIF templates a CP sent me (thanks G!), and pray for serious AHA solution moment to show up between now and Monday.

And I'll query another agent with the third MS just feel some sense of accomplishment.

Synopsis Super Write In

I woke up with energy to burn for the first time in at least two weeks. In fact, I had forgotten what it was like to feel awake in the morning for at least two years. I just muddled through each day and did what had to be done regardless of my energy levels. 

So to have the oomph to go and tackle my dreaded synopsis was a great feeling!

First thing, take new medication. Second, I went through the MS and pulled out all my Pivotal Plot Points and noted them with extra tags. Man is it easy to zip back and forth throughout the document on Scrivener.  I also had to mark the black moments for my hero/heroine as well as my resolution. It is so quick to move and mark the various scenes with highlights in this program. I am glad I have it for all my future writing projects.

I read through my original synopsis, marked changes, and then reread my Craft Corner notes regarding how to build a good synopsis. I had a lot of work ahead of me. But I was determined to finish a good workable draft today. After I made sure I had info necessary regarding plot, I went back into Scrivener and highlighted passages I wanted to add to the synopsis to show my voice and build the story plot.

I imported my word doc into the Scrivener doc, into a separate folder, and then I cut and pasted the highlights into the doc. It was a snap to cut and move from each scene into the synopsis. No more scrolling through an entire doc, or pressing find and searching for a needle in a haystack. It's partitioned by scenes and chapters and I have the keywords noting PPPs and all the necessary plot points. Voila, I had a paper to edit.

I edited it. Cut and moved elements, tried to incorporate the GMC of my hero/heroine. And I finished. I then exported the doc over to Word and printed it. Less than five pages! Double spaced! I am sooooo happy. Now it's a matter of tweaking the echoes and fine tuning the grammar. 

I have a query letter, a synopsis, my first three chapters, and I am almost done! For Ellora's Cave I have to have a great end chapter, so I'll work on that on Monday.

By next Friday, I should be ready to query!!! Woohoo!