Writing In The Wrong Order

When I first started writing my novel, over a year ago now, I thought you had to write from page one to the very last page. I wrote out an outline for everything I wanted to cram into my story and I even had a clear idea of what I wanted in each chapter. But when it actually came down to writing that first page it was a lot different than I thought it would be and more difficult.

While writing a story and creating your own world is fun and exciting it can also be really boring, I am not going to lie about that. There are times when I will be stuck on a single scene no matter how I hard I try to make it perfect it sucks. It can be so frustrating and painful to have to sit through that. This was all when I was writing from page one. I rewrote the first few chapters three times getting more and more discouraged the whole time.

With plenty of research I found that I  was not alone in feeling this way. Many published and highly experienced authors pick and choose the parts of the novel they wish to work on first and they just dive in and do it! It blew my mind. Some authors even wrote the very last page first.

I have been trying to listen to that advice. If a scene keeps playing in my head over and over again I just have to write it down. A few months ago I wrote this one part of my story that gave me chills and scared me and I had control of the situation. I was not even close to reaching that part of my story yet. I am actually thinking of writing the last page tonight after I make this post. I can see it so visibly in my mind and when that happens I can not resist.

If I wrote all the pages that were dull and difficult without creating the fun and exciting ones I can assure you there would not be a book. A balance is needed as in  most things. There seem to be some basic rules that most authors follow in their books they wrote but they also create their own. This is something I have learned as well. I need to follow the order that works best for me as well as my book. I want my novel to be the absolute best it can be and I am working hard to make it that way. I wont except anything less from myself. If I want to start writing from smack dab in the middle of the story than I can do that. If I want to write the last half of my books first that's okay too. It doesn't mater! And that fact is more freeing than  you could ever know.

Next week I will post a status update so make sure you tune in!

Awareness

Sorry guys I had to skip a week for my blog because I needed a new computer and it was finals week. but now I am done for the semester  so I have more time to write. something I have not had time to do for a while. I love writing and it is something that never leaves my mind no matter where I am or where I am going. With this awareness comes the opportunity to find new ideas for my story.

I have a notebook that I keep for stray ideas that fly at me and for pictures that inspire me. For instance when I was in Minnesota I felt inspired to use the willow tree as a family crest. I also changed the name in one of my main characters because the name was already being used in a major motion picture and no one likes a copy cat.

Life experiences make good story lines and while I wont write about specifics I can add experiences that have taken place in my life as well as friends and family; with a view changes of course. If I pay attention and something sticks out to me you can bet I will add it where I can. Everything is fair game.

Music is one of my biggest inspirations. The track during the mermaid scene  in pirates of the Caribbean continues to give me chills and that scene made me realize I wanted to write my own mermaid story. Two Steps from Hell's music as well is full of music that tells its own story and I have found many songs that apply to many scenes I am writing about and they force me to try to write the best I can. It makes the scene become more real and alive in my mind and on paper.

I try to always be aware of everything no matter how stupid or senseless it may be. I hope that at the end all these inspirations will pull together to make a worthwhile story that can be enjoyed by many.

Sorry its so short but I will have a lot more to write about next week. Now I am off to work on my story. I hope you all have a nice week!

Development

I want you to think of your favorite character from a book, movie, or even a video game. What was it about that character that stood out to you? Was it their back ground story, or the way the handled the things life hurled at them?

Was it the way they related to others or was it the similarities or differences they shared with you? Either way the character was probably fully developed with an actual past and seemed like a real person. The character was so real you felt as if you could Google them or find and friend them on Facebook.

That is the kind of character I have to build for my story, and let me tell you it's not easy. I started out having this very clear cut idea of all the things I wanted my main character to be, but she has a completely different idea. She absolutely refuses to respond the way I want her too and is quite stubborn. I have parts of her back story coming along but some of it is still a blur; which is not good if I want this story to be a success. I know her younger brother more than I know her. He actually does what I write for him and doesn't fight back. I don't want any of my characters to be Mary-sues so to speak and I definitely don't want them to become walking clichés. So far character development seems to be the hardest part about writing this novel but its not the only one.

The plot is not as clear as I want it to be and many holes keep cropping up. Like why did the villain become the villain and how much of their back story should I reveal if I plan on doing a prequel as well?  I also want to fully understand what their plans are. I want it to be complex and as far away from anticlimactic as possible. Like the protagonist the antagonist needs a story that makes them come alive.

So far I have 11,500 words and  4.5 chapters completed which is isn't that much especially considering that I would like my book to be 400 pages. This equals about 100,000 words. My previous version of my story was up to 40,000 words before I started over from scratch. I know there is still a lot of writing to be done but I plan to have my final draft for my novel completed by the end of 2015. With winter break approaching I will have plenty of time to work on this when I'm not working. I would like to thank  you beforehand for your patience. I will finish this novel that I promise but I would like to have you along the way. Feel free to ask any questions below or email me if you would like.

Author In-Progress

I have been working on my novel for over a year now and am still at the very beginning of my journey. I have always loved writing, ever since I could read actually. There's something about writing on a page and watching those words come alive and become their own story that is like nothing I have ever experienced. I know I want to get published and I am willing to work hard enough to reach that dream.

 I would like to invite all of you along on this journey . Because everyone knows that behind every writer there is a support group that has held them up and pushed them when they could not stand anymore. This is a very short post but since it is my first one I think I can get away with it. I will try to post faithfully once a week. Feel free to leave comments. I won't bite.