I had left myself an outline of what I was doing on the young adult book I’d started, which was very helpful since I’d set it aside for so long.
With my first three books, I had only the very loosest of outlines – characters, setting, and a bit about why there was some tension between the main couple. But for the most part, I just sat down and wrote them, sometimes surprising myself with where the characters went.
This time I’ve got a lot more of the book already worked out. When I was idling away the holiday break and considering writing, I had thought to myself, Self, you need to plot out the whole book this time. No more of this making it up as you go stuff, Self.
Because to do exploratory writing means to realize in the third act that you need to tweak the first act… and I dislike the rewriting/editing process. I don’t do enough of it, and I know I could have improved my first books if I’d invested in this part of the process. But… it’s not fun? And this is not how I make a living, it’s a hobby. Has to be fun.
So I’ve jumped into the book that had a full outline (although there are spots in it that say, “I’ll figure this part out later, it’s just one chapter.”) The plot is clear (although my usual difficulty with names has shown up and the current manuscript is set in [TownName], home of [TownName] High.) The characters already had names! Even the best friends!
And I’m 5630 words in already (I’d only done 1700 and the outline when I started this weekend.) Now I just need to create good habits again…
Wish my luck again, imaginary readers and spambots!