As I’m sure you’ve probably heard, in the writing world, there tends to be two kinds of writers. Outliners and Pantsters. Outliners pre-plan and organize their work to get the most out of their talent. Pantsters are those fly-by-the-seat-of-their-pants creatives, who build their stories while their characters are whispering in their ear. There are ups and downs to each approach. Although most people will staunchly defend their drafting approach, I also think most writers will tell you there are positives and negatives to each style.
I’ve always considered myself a pantster. I’m allergic to outlines. Seriously, even with the book written–I have trouble writing the outline. *not-so-fondly-remembers-a-27-page-outline-while-on-submission* But this week there has been a revelation. I’m not a pantster or and outliner.
I’M A WEBBER!
What is this???
It’s that gray middle ground between pants and outlines. As I’ve been researching and brainstorming my WIP, I’ve come to realize that I don’t write without a plan, but my plans don’t look or act like outlines. They aren’t rigid and they don’t have a lot of structure. They look more like story webs, lists and thought bubbles. They are thought stew. They are bits and pieces of ideas I move around until a pattern of connections emerges. 80% of this happens in my head and about 20% of this gets scrawled on paper in a very messy fashion. (Mostly to indulge my love of notebooks) but also to ground the thinking process with the motion of the hand. I draw timelines. I dash out thoughts that interest me, even when I have no place for those thoughts in my current web. But I store them anyway, because I believe they might eventually belong–when I’m smart enough to understand my own story.
I’m a webber–plotting and planning in a pattern that is all my own.
I’m trawling for story threads. I’ve got my divining rod out and I’m looking for the well that holds my magic mush. I am plotting a first draft.
I have a solid little starter chunk of my WIP on the page–again. Yup. I said AGAIN. That’s how it works. I write. I get stuck. I unstick myself. I write some more. This whole writing a novel thing is a process. Somedays it feels like throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. But really it’s about critical mass. I need to gather enough story threads and magic mush to weave and mold a complete book. I’ve had some material that has sparked me–enough to START a novel–but not enough to birth a full term book. This is not unusual. Not for me and not for a lot of writers.
Lots of people assume writing a book looks like this…
But really it looks more like this.
Kinda weird and wacky.
You feel like you’re doing the same damn thing over and over again, but really–you are making progress.
On a good day writing can be a challenge, so not having the enough threads and mush to make a story come alive can be VERY frustrating. And while I do believe that Stephen King’s Boys in the Basement will get around to sending up what I need… eventually…I have discovered there are things I can do to stir up pot making the threads and mush more visible. Here are some of the things I’ve been doing to light a fire under those basement boys…
*I’ve been reading really great books–books that inspire me emotionally and as an artisan. Some people say reading is counter productive for them because it masks their own voice, but I find it clears my head. It’s like waking up sleepy and having a strong cup of coffee. Reading fabulous literature illuminates me.
*I look back at my scrap pile and revisit the chunks of stories that have gone to the land of unloved toys. Why? Because these bits and pieces came from thread and mush that was once important to me. They came from things that made me think or feel and perhaps I am not done with them yet. It’s a bit like setting up a yard sale with all the stuff your kids haven’t touched in eons. Once in sight, those long lost bits make me fall in love with them all over again. There is good stuff in there–if I can turn it on it’s head and look at it in a different way–a way I was unable to see in the confines of a previous story structure.
*I spend time in bed day dreaming about my story. This is magic time for me. I’m sleepy and relaxed and my mind wanders to places I would never let it go if I was at full attention. I adore this thought limbo so much. It’s truly one of my favorite parts of the writing process. And trust me, it’s not like I’m sprawled out for hours at a time, day and night. I wish. In reality, it might be five or ten sleepy minutes between closing a good book and arriving at the Land of Nod. But those minutes bring me important stuff and I’ve learned to appreciate them.
*I also pay attention. I’ve learned to trust that content will show up for me to explore. It WILL show up. I simply have to be paying attention. I’ve gotten much better at accepting this and believing there are no coincidences. Just this week I saw a book in the airport by a non-fiction author that fascinates me. I had the urge to buy the book, but I was already reading another book that showed up. Yesterday I saw a blog post about the author of that airport book and I clicked on it and started reading. Of course they mentioned the new book. Then, within a few minutes I saw more information on the book and low and behold, it had content in it directly related to my threads and mush. I bought the book and I’m five chapters in and I have added a ton of threads and mush to my pile.
Doing all of the above gets me excited and stimulates my thought process. It forces the Boys in the Basement to be on high alert. And they are! I am tingling with excitement about how much more I can create with all the new threads and mush I’ve collected. I am sooooo close to starting over AGAIN. *head thunk* And that’s the thing to understand about collecting threads and mush–they don’t weave and mold themselves. You need enough of them to have material to work with, but mounds of raw product will never become art on it’s own. Craft is involved in the process. No one can pull a story out of my head but me. So, it won’t be long until you’re reading a blog post about the amazing, yet hair-pulling act of writing a first draft of my WIP–again. But that’s how I roll.
How do you collect the story threads and magic mush you need to make your writing work? Are you a researcher? Outliner? Do you bull-doze through multiple drafts in NaNoWriMo style or do you take a quieter, slower approach to mulling over your characters and plot lines. Does it change from book to book? Tell me your secrets, I might like to steal them.
Today I’m cross posting over at YA Outside the Lines. This month we are talking about how we read. It’s a fascinating topic and you should check out all the posts this month. To see mine…click HERE.
And don’t forget to leave a blog post comment for the Literate Earth Project. All you have to do is say anything…I LOVE BOOKS or I LOVE KIDS will do the trick. You can even say LAUGH IT UP FUZZ BALL–it’s the 8yo’s favorite new Star Wars saying now that he’s become a HUGE Chewbacca fan. Your comment will put $1 in the hands of kids who are badly in need of books. It’s easy and it’s a fabulous thing to do. And of course I would appreciate it if you told friends and Wookies or Wookie friends to stop by and leave a comment too.
Feel free to hop on over to either of those posts ASAP, but if you’re dying to leave a comment here too–I’m taking questions on writing or author-ly things. Just shout it out.
Want to hear about something amazing? My friend Jeff Fonda is the CEO of the amazing Literate Earth Project. Haven’t heard of it yet? Check this out…
The idea for The Literate Earth Project was sparked in the summer of 2009 after founder and CEO Jeff Fonda worked as an Ambassador for Soccer (SWB) Without Borders in Ndejje, Uganda. He worked on a number of projects but their main focus was coaching and teaching at Hope School (now called Great Lakes School), a primary school in Ndejje. He noticed that all of the students in class were using handwritten books and that the school had maybe 50 printed books in their possession but all were under lock and key because of how valuable they were. Jeff and his fellow SWB Ambassador started taking out the books during lunch, promising to keep a watchful eye on them, and the vast majority of students chose to forgo their typical running around outside to sit and read the books. For those who couldn’t read, just seeing pictures of different types of animals, weather and cities, expanded their minds. Before Jeff left Uganda that summer, he promised Jacques Bwira, the founder of Great Lakes School, that he would be back to build libraries. Jacques is now on The Literate Earth Project board and in June 2012 The Literate Earth Project opened the first free public library in the East Africa Community. It is the first of many to come because we believe literacy is truly at the core of human development and that these libraries will be the building blocks for some very bright futures.
But telling you doesn’t compare to showing you…
As you can see, this is a project that makes me want to be a successful author so I can help to spread the word and urge people to contribute to the power of literacy. It’s the best weapon I know for making the world a better place.
You can find out more about The Literate Earth Project HERE!
I’d also like to put my money where my mouth is. For everyone who leaves a comment on this blog post, I will donate a dollar to The Literate Earth Project. (One comment per person up to $100) What should you write in the comments? Tell me about what you liked about the video or The Literate Earth Project. Tell me how books make a difference in the lives of children. Tell me you’ve gone and made a donation.
How can you spread the word to make sure I’m paying the full $100? Here is a pre-fabricated tweet/FB status you can share.
Check out The Literate Earth Project @LiterateEarth and comment to make @KimSabatini give a bigger donation https://kimberlysabatini.com/blog/2013/10/literate-earth-project/
Thank you for helping to spread the word–you are made of awesome.
