Another word for “blocking” a story is “beating” out a story. In essence, I’m working on a type of outline. I block out a story by writing a paragraph about each scene. Writer’s choice! The paragraph can be  detailed or general. I  think of blocking as a kind of map. I have a starting point and an ending, but I need to list the steps that get me from Chapter One to “The End.”

Blocking Windfall’s sequel has been interesting. Because I know many of the characters I’ve been able to focus more on the plot. While I plot the story, I let the new characters “bake a little in my brain.” Like I did with Windfall, I will write the screenplay first and follow that screenplay with the novel.

As I write a paragraph about each BLOCK or BEAT of the story, I ask myself several questions. The first two questions are: WHO will be in the scene and WHAT will happen in the scene. The next question is: what is the scene’s PURPOSE. Why is the scene necessary?  If the story can be told without the scene, then maybe it’s not needed

The scene might introduce a new character or locale. It might create conflict, provide a transition, or do any number of other things. But, in all cases, each scene should (1) reveal something about a character or (2) move the story forward.

The way I write will not work for everyone. Many writers “write by the seat of their pants.” They start with a vague idea or a colorful character and then begin.  If this works for you, then HOORAH you don’t have to do as much work as I do. I’ve tried to write this way but find, without some kind of an outline, I get confused, my writing becomes unfocused, and I eventually get frustrated and lose interest in the project.

My progress on Finding Verity is steady because I know the story and it’s just a matter of getting it into my laptop. And, I know the story because, before I began writing, I blocked it out, and now I’m using that work as a guide. Every day I try to work on Finding Verity for two solid hours. I begin each day of writing by editing the previous days work so, in some ways, I’m working on the first and second draft at the same time. Right now the word count on Finding Verity is 29,347.

I’d love to hear how other writer’s approach their projects. Do you do a lot of prep work? Or do you write by the seat of your pants?

1910 – Reading in a Fire Station

Tell your friends. Tomorrow it goes back to $6.95.

Here’s the link!

The first novel is titled FINDING VERITY.   Its progress is solid and the current word count is 26,299 words.

The second novel I planned to write I’ve referred to as CURRENT NOVEL because I don’t have a title for it yet. But its progress has not gone well. Therefore, I’ve put Current Novel on the back burner.

But, my goal remains unchanged… I WILL write two novels in 2012.

My second novel will be WINDFALL’s sequel. (Windfall is currently available in Kindle or paperback formats on Amazon.)

I do know the sequel’s title but I can’t share it yet. Before I write the novel, I’m writing the screenplay, and I’ve entered the screenplay’s logline in MoviePoet’s logline contest. In this contest, the story’s title and logline are judged and, since entries must remain anonymous, I can’t reveal the title.

Wish me luck!

“W” is for Writing 

Enjoy!

If you are interested, here’s the link!

I can’t see myself only writing in one genre. Yes, there are authors who only write novels that involve detectives and serial killers. And some writer’s pen only romance or historical sagas. But, I can’t see myself limiting myself.

My first novel WINDFALL was a dramatic thriller. However, next year when I write its sequel, I’m not going to limit myself to writing another dramatic thriller. It might end up being a dramatic thriller but it might be something entirely different. Right now I don’t know. I’m giving myself options.

This year I’m writing two novels. One is a coming of age story. The other is a paranormal romance.

I suppose if I was younger I might want to focus on one genre and become famous for that. Like Stephen King did with horror, or John Grisham did with novels about lawyers.

But I’m 60. At this point in my life I’m not going to limit myself.

I’m a writer, sometimes novels and sometimes screenplays, and I’m going to write what I want to write.

Writing Devices for the Blind in 1913 (Library for the Blind)

Current Novel needs a title. Right now I’m considering Perspicuous Dreams. Perspicuous means “clearly expressed” or “lucid”. I know a lot of people won’t know what perspicuous means but I have the same problem with verity. I am also considering Lucid Dreams.

Any thoughts on these two titles?

Because I’m so busy with two novels, I wasn’t going to enter this year’s contest but this morning I woke up with an idea I couldn’t turn my back on.

The MoviePoet logline contest is the first stage of a feature-length screenplay contest. The top 30 loglines advance to the second stage where the first ten pages of their screenplays can be submitted. The top ten writers in this stage advance to the third stage, where the entire screenplay is presented.

I have entered this contest twice before and my logline has NEVER advanced.  I have always considered three my lucky number so we’ll see if my logline progresses to the second stage of the contest this year.

Yes, I’m entering Windfall. The manuscript is ready… I just have to get the files ready to upload. In addition to the entire manuscript, I will upload a 3,000-5,000 word excerpt and a “pitch”. The files have to be in an accepted format (.doc, .docx, .rtf, or .txt.).

Winners of this contest wil get a contract with the Penguin Group (U.S.A.).. And, yes, I would love to win. Finalists will be announced in May and the winner will be announced in June.

And, I like to write about writing.  So I have this blog.

But, sometimes I’d just like to write about other things, things that are on my mind.  Like politics, health, being the mother of a teenager, aging, etc. I didn’t want to write about those things on this blog because this blog is, afterall, about writing. So, this week-end I set up a new blog. 

In case you’re interested in taking a look, go to Faith’s Thoughts. You never know what I’ll be thinking about! In fact, it might surprise you!

Fox Writing with Quill Pen

Here is what my sister told me in an email: I read all of Windfall this past Tuesday. It took me about seven hours to complete. I had a hard time in the beginning with all the characters and I almost stopped reading it. However once it came together I couldn’t put it down. Thumbs up Sis!

All I can say is, “hang in there.” At the beginning of the book,  the characters seem unrelated, but their stories overlap and most questions are resolved at the end.

Today, I got some good writing done on FINDING VERITY.  Almost two hours worth at the laundromat and then another couple of hours when I got home. 

Current word count on FINDING VERITY is 15,634.