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No Plan Survives First Contact
Posted by: kerrynangell
This is as true for writing as it is for war.
As an ordered, organised list maker of course I prepared for SoCNoC. I wrote over 7,500 words in preparation around my characters, their world, their lives before my story, their dreams, their motivation. Scene by scene I built my story, always asking why like a bored two year old. I was developing conflict and surprises were coming out of corner I didn’t know existed. It was exciting and I couldn’t wait to begin writing. This was the beginning of May and then several weeks passed where I didn’t look at my preparation.
Then I did begin writing. The first few scenes went as planned and I began the story. The next scenes I attempted to write stalled and fell flat. It threw me off balance and I struggled to the get the words out. I had to go back to my preparation and figure out what happened next. I’ve been going at a stop and start pace for a while now. Sometimes I come across solid conflict and a scene flows from my fingers tapping furiously at the keyboard. Other times I stare at all of my preparation trying to get a solid feel for my characters, who they are and what they are going to do next. It’s helpful to be able to turn to my preparation in such times of need but my point is this:
Whether you start with a plan or go in with only the barest image at some point during the month we will all be drawing deep into ourselves and our imaginations to break through the dam and release the flow of words that will get us through our story and past 50,000 words. Those are the moments that lift us up and give us that rush of accomplishment and excitement. Those are the moments that overshadow the struggles we go through and make writing all the more worth while.
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17 Jun 2007 22:03:26
Comments
On 18 Jun 2007 10:35:42 Maggenpye said:
Yes - the only way i get around that is writing the key scenes, not the easiest (though it often works that way because I've spent more time thinking about them) but the scenes that the story MUST have to get from the begining to the end. Mostly the rest is bridging the gaps between those scenes, and that's where my character development comes out, working out why those characters make those choices. When I'm stuck in one place, I can chip away at the dam of words somewhere else. Try to outflank the block. Love the analogy with war.