Do As I Say

…”Not as I do.” Your mother, father, or other caretaker must have told you this so many times your ears flapped closed and your brain took off to Never Never Land. Mine did.

Now I’m forced to suggest to my readers who are writers that you do just that. As I say, not as I do.

Here’s “I say” Number One: Before you begin your novel, should you decide to do so (and what more appropriate month than November, the month of NaNoWriMo), have the end in mind. In fact, write that chapter first, if you can. Write an outline, as sketchy or as detailed as your personality type and writing style allows. If you protest that you’re a pantster who writes by the seat of your pants with your imagination guiding, and simply cannot create an outline, I suggest that you write down and know well the major plot points of the book and how you, your protagonists and the entire supporting cast of characters might possibly make it to the Promised Land that is the climax and the ending of your novel.

Some people use storyboarding, little boxes with scenes in them. Some people draw the three or four main sections of the novel (acts) on a large sheet of paper, with a line that dips and peaks with the action, and the scenes that lead to those peaks jotted beneath the line. Some people make note cards with each scene, with a different color for each character.

“I say” Number Two: Have in mind a reasonable word count for your novel and STICK TO IT. You know how long your chapters generally run. Utilize those math skills and multiply. Especially if you write genre fiction, length counts. (And I’m not talking erotica!)

Do not, alas, be faced with serious reconstructive surgery just when you think you’re nearing the end of a long, tedious, yet joyful process.

That is what I’m undergoing with my current novel. This novel has been a learning journey, where I have learned to add emotional complexity and tension to each page. That also adds words. A better plot outline, referred to more often, would have helped me “avoid the knife.” And saved time and emotional energy.

How do you plan your writing? Have you ever encountered a problem similar to mine, needing serious revisions? What did you do?