Seriously… I mean, I get the point. I do. No agent nor editor wants to read through an entire manuscript just to find out the plot falls apart or the ending sucks, but it’s just so….tedious….formulaic. Things I don’t like.
I’m not an outline type of gal. I have a basic premise for a book or a story, and I start writing. I see where it goes. I fix continuity as I see problems arise. So far, I’ve been lucky enough to have characters with certain qualities that come in handy later on. I don’t plan these things—they just happen. I’ve never been an outline fan.
I am, I must say, working on a basic plot, from beginning to end, for the sequel to Avalon (which I had NO intention of writing but so many ideas came to mind and I’m not ready to let these people go, so I’ll give them a bit more life…). So yeah, there’s a sequel…and it just kind of happened. I was like, ‘what about this, though?’ – ‘oh, and this could soooo easily happen.’ So now I’m forced to write it. I’m not in control….these dang characters are. Sometimes I swear they’re more real than I am 
Back to the point, though… When I started the first book, I had an idea and I figured out the ending, but the middle, well, it just came as I wrote. I saw the scenes play out in my mind and I typed away, writing what was happening. This time, though, I have a more defined idea of what will occur. One, because I can’t not think about it, and two, because I have a bit more experience writing and I know the process will go quicker this way. Most likely I’ll drift off the path a bit as the characters go their own way, but I’m looking forward to it 
The main difference between this book and the first is that I have NO idea what the ending is…so that will be interesting to see what comes about. In fact, I literally just wrote down something else that came to mind. Something that wasn’t dealt with in the first book. Avalon is definitely a stand-alone novel, but there are issues that can be dealt with in another story, so that’s what I’m doing…. O.K., enough of that.
Back to the *original* point. Formulas. Synopses. These things suck! Queries, eh, not so much. I like mine. I have a few versions, depending on who I’m submitting to, but this whole synopsis thing. It’s for the birds, as my grandma would say (and actually did yesterday, while talking about this Ridiculous heat wave we have going on!).
My favorite are the agents who don’t require them. Don’t get me wrong, I’m working on mine and I’ll have it ready—I have to since I’m submitting a partial tomorrow, but I just had to vent that I don’t like them at all. I want to write. Not put together a proposal, or presentation, in order to sell something. I’m not a salesman. I’ve worked retail…I’m the type that’s honest. If something isn’t right for the person, I’ll tell them. So how am I supposed to sell my book.
Oh yeah, that’s right. I’m beyond in love with it and have confidence and faith that others will see the spark it contains. So we’ll see. Now I’m off to pretend I’m back in college, writing an outline for some stupid paper I don’t have any desire to write. Wait, that’s not true. I like writing…no matter what it’s about. It’s the outlines that I hate.
And the synopses. So there ya go.
xx -e*
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obvious solution! July 11, 2009
Tags: derailment, eden tyler, editing, floggingthequill.com, ms word, ray rhamey, revising, the abandoned edge of avalon, word comments, writing, writing solutions
Ever since I changed my book to what I was told it should be like, I’ve been having problems. I chunked five chapters and totally redid the beginning only to realize that having so much action only led to less tension. Everything happened and was answered right away. Well, not everything—of course there’s more to the book, but…
Anyway, I put four of the five chapters back in and rewrote the beginning. I wrote it how it was originally. It’s better now because I’ve had ridiculous amounts of revising practice, but it took a few months to get it back to where I feel the story is how it should be.
The problem is that I was thrown off track. Big time. And I’m pretty much back, but the wheels aren’t sliding into the rails exactly right. (or however trains work…idk)
I have had to leave where I’d stopped writing before the crazy revision—about chapter 14 or so—and jump ahead to write later chapters. Those were the only ones that were working themselves out in my head. I was struggling with ch14…it’s still only half done. But I have 4 or 5 later chapters completely finished. One towards the middle, and the rest fit in between the middle and the end somewhere.
I guess it’s perfectly fine to write this way, but I was doing so well writing sequentially and then…Nothing. Nada. No words came out. And if they did, they were all wrong.
Of course I have an idea of what I want to do with the chapter. I know what needs to happen, I just don’t know how to do it.
Then here comes Ray Rhamey, giving me the answer that’s been right in front of my face. Duh, Eden!
Comments. Yes, Word Comments. All I have to do is highlight the last bit of text and add some notes to the side to briefly outline what will happen in that chapter and subsequent ones.
Now, I’m not an outline type of gal, so the really obvious answer won’t work for me. Not at all.
But comments… These will work.
See, if I write down something, then it’s out of my head and I can move on. I’m that way with anything. I’m actually that way with speaking, as well. If something’s on my mind, I just have to get it out and then it’s done and over with. Resolved.
So, if I write down the bones of the chapters that have been in my head for months, it will trick my mind into thinking I’ve written the chapters. Part of the trick is that these ideas and such need to be in the document. Which is why outlines don’t work for me.
Once I’ve made notes in a few comments, I can move on. I know I’m capable of writing later chapters, as I’ve already done so.
Once I’m back in my rhythm, I can go back and fill in the details and really write the action, dialogue, and such.
Yay for MS Word and Ray Rhamey.
Read what gave me hope!
And read other articles of his, as he has great insights into the editing/revising process. Heck, even the basic, beginning writing process. I’ve bookmarked many of his individual pages, on top of bookmarking the main page for daily updates.
This will be the third time I’ve linked to his article in this one of mine, so go check it out!