Hazards Of An Intuitive Writing Process

[dr_pretentious]

Sometimes I envy writers who start writing at the beginning of the text and work straight through to the end. They have their outlines, and their characters are not permitted to deviate from the initial plan in any way that would break the outlines. Some very successful books have come out of very linear creative processes. I could never work that way, for a whole lot of reasons, but I won't disparage people who do.

Meanwhile, the Ria manuscript has a beginning, several variations on an end, and about two thirds of a middle with big gaps that are filling slowly in. As each gap closes, what I need to do to fill the other gaps gets a bit clearer...except when it doesn't. My cast was big already, with the usual ensemble players from the coven, a few familiar outsiders from previous novellas, and a couple of new minor characters who are integral to Ria's life but not to the lives of her covenmates. Oh, and about half a dozen walk-on psychiatrists whom Ria meets once apiece and then immediately fires. For a 25,000 word target, that's plenty of characters. I did not want one more, but she seems to be necessary, though I haven't yet figured out everything she's for. I wish she'd go away, or hurry up and do something really cool. Hexing Ria's kitchen appliances doesn't count, unless the consequences of the hex get a lot more entertaining than they currently are.

Comments

Appliance Hexer

[laradionne.livejournal.com]

Maybe the appliance hexer is supposed to run off with a sex therapist to live on a neo-hippy commune with her coven-mates and never be heard from again other than in the sorts of speculation that go something like, "I wonder whatever happened to ___" or "Does anyone even know if ___ is still alive? No one has heard from her in ages..."

Re: Appliance Hexer

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

That would be an excellent long-term fate for her. Meanwhile, I think she has to appear onstage at least once in this story, and I haven't figured out where she can be most useful to me.

[puredumbluck.livejournal.com]

I share your envy. I wish I could sit down and actually write something. I always write the first few chapters and then I get bored. Suddenly an unrelated plot idea pops up and I write a few chapters of that! On and on. I blame this on when I used to roleplay years back on random chats and message boards. I still itch to write as always but... eh. I know nothing will come from it.

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

Your muse might be a flash fiction specialist. There are a lot more markets for very short fiction than for, say, novellas. If you try cultivating ideas that reach their resolution within your attention span, who knows what might happen for you?

Good luck!

[sabrinamari.livejournal.com]

I CANNOT WAIT to read this! I love the Rugosa crew.

[jasminewind.livejournal.com]

What she said! I <3 Rugosa. If they were real, B* would have some competitions! :-)

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

I have so much fun writing them, I'm glad they're fun for you guys, too.

[happy-dr-friend.livejournal.com]

Rugosa and hexed kitchen appliances. This is going to be good...If I may ask, when does this story take place? Before or after the two published stories? Because last we saw Ria she had...but I shouldn't say in case someone here hasn't read Atlantis Cranks yet (if so, go do so-it's good.)

[dr-pretentious.livejournal.com]

It's set right between the other two novellas. Sometimes I feel the way I imagine Tolkien might have felt if he'd tried to write The Two Towers after his other two volumes were already published. Making this print collection feel like an organically whole, single book, while still making each piece stand alone is fairly strenuous, and writing the middle last doesn't make it easier. If I can pull it off, the individual character arcs across the series are going to really kick ass.