In a previous blog post that I am certain you already read, I discussed my relationship with the backspace key and the way I have learned (for the most part) to coexist with it. Within that post, and in many other places as well, I have confessed willingly that I will never be the most prolific of writers, nor do I ever intend to be. My addiction to editing while writing has been mostly cured, my usually symbiotic, occasionally parasitic relationship with my archenemy kept in check, but there are other things which prevent me from churning out volumes of fresh prose.
So let it be known – I am a hardcore Plotter. I map out most every detail of a story before I begin to craft it. I know the story, the characters, the world, as if I live there myself. I live in envy of the Pantser, the ones who simply sit and write with little to no preparation, for theirs is a skill I have been unable to master. It is my devotion to researching, outlining, timelining, and developing that has slowed my process down to the rate of continental drift.
Okay, so maybe there is a bit of hyperbole there. Still, my need to prepare – or overprepare – is one of the things that slows me down. I spend a lot of time getting all my pieces lined up and arranged just right, so that when I finally set out on the journey of that story I have a set course, a reliable compass, and strong winds at my back. I know by heart the stars that guide me, I have a strong and sturdy ship beneath me, and I know (more or less) where my journey will end.
This is not to say I do not allow for deviations, detours, side trips, and unplanned excursions. I allow my characters to lead me on that trip, for they know the path even better than I – with all my hours of preparation – think I do. Still, much of my preparations end up in the finished product, so it is time well spent. I will elaborate with an example from what I am currently working on.
I am writing this blog post after spending the previous hour brainstorming and plotting for a short story which I will be submitting for consideration to the guys at Wayward Raven Media for inclusion in We Suck at Comics Volume 2. I have already spent a week gathering my thoughts and ideas, and several other hours beginning that outline. For this anthology, there is a word limit on short fiction of 2,500 words. Once I settled on my idea, I set about crafting my characters, plot, and doing some world building to make sure that I am consistent. My outline for that story – not a word of which is direct prose that will end up in the pages of the story – is more than 2,000 words long. A large percentage of that is devoted to the world where the story takes place and a general outline of the events, but that stuff will not even be in the story. Heck, there are huge chunks of the outline that are only there for me, to help me be internally consistent and to immerse me more within the world of the story as I write. Will that make for a better story? I hope so. But I hope it also shows why any piece of fiction, even a short story like that one, can take me months to complete. Such is the burden of the Plotter.
This summer I undertook an experiment of sorts. I wrote a short story of 10,000 words (actually I am a little over and need to trim it down a bit) with almost no planning. I had a general idea of the tone and story, I wrote 3-4 sentence biographies for the main characters, and then set about writing. It was fun in a way, but also tedious, slow, and occasionally very difficult. Several times I got stuck and had to skip ahead just to be productive. I will confess that part of me enjoyed the spontaneity of writing that way and some of my favorite parts are bits that I thought of in the moment. And though I like the final result, it remains to be seen if it is good enough.
For an extra peek at my Plotter’s Desk, look at the image from this post. You can see several of my binders there, each devoted to a novel concept, work-in-progress, or bits of ideas. There’s a short story binder there too, and within is a large supply of (mostly empty) folders for each story and its notes. You can also see a pile of first drafts on the desk, a beat-up spiral notebook that gets toted around to various places, and a few little odds and ends to give me a little inspiration. I have long been enamored of the images of Ray Bradbury’s writing environment, so I do model my own after his, just less busy.
So there is a little more insight into how I write. I will continue to expand upon this, mostly because I had a lot of fun thinking about my process. If you want to ask me something specific, please do. I enjoy writing about my writing – more so than I thought I would – and if it helps someone else to learn about my methods, than I am grateful for the chance to share. For now, I have an unfinished outline that is begging to be worked on, so my blogging hat must be removed and I must fetch my Plotter pants.