by Jeanne Takenaka, @JeanneTakenaka
When the calendar rolled over to 2018, I had grand plans for my next book. I was going to complete the fast draft by March 31st. And somehow, miraculously, have it ready to enter the Genesis contest.
You can stop laughing now.
A lot of life has happened.
Boys have been sick. Testy. In the ER. I’ve had a wisdom tooth removed.
And I began writing my story before I was quite ready to write it.
I confess I might be a bit (ahem) of a plotter. I like to have my story in place before “Once upon a time” makes it to page one. My comfort zone “encourages” me to have every major and minor aspect of the story planned out.
The problem is, lately, I’ve gotten stuck in the mire of detail and lost the vision and excitement for the story.
A friend challenged me to stop charting and just write.
It was a scary thought. She had a point. There’s something exhilarating about diving into a new story.
I hadn’t finished telling myself the story, but I figured I knew enough to dive head-first into writing.
And oh, the endorphins those first few chapters elicited! I was riding on a story-high.
But I got stuck. At about chapter seven. I’d let my characters run a little wild. I didn’t know where the story was going. Or how to get my characters back in line.
Now, I’m realizing I’ve got to find a balance in story creating. Some charting is good for my sanity. But the big thing I need to do?
Tell myself the story.
I’m so blessed to have published friends sharing insights to help me succeed. But, there comes a time when I must consider the inputs I’ve received and align them with my writing needs.
I am not a pantser. But, I have a tendency to over-plot.
As I go back to my story preparation, some things must change. My characters should have room to breathe, but they also need more structure than I’ve used have so far.
Going forward from here, I won’t write another word of my not-so-fast draft until I finish telling myself the story.
It’s in this exercise that I discover nuances about my characters and their journey that enhance the actual writing. I used to be afraid I would write all the exciting parts into the synapses and have nothing fresh for the story itself.
On the contrary. I’m discovering that as I learn new things about my characters in the telling, more depth comes in the fast-drafting.
If I had one piece of advice for writers beginning their fast-draft, it would be what Susie May Warren and Rachel Hauck, writing coaches at Novel.Academy, always say, “Tell yourself the story FIRST.”
JWhat about you? What is one tip you would give fellow writers who are beginning their next fast-draft?
Jeanne Takenaka writes contemporary fiction that touches the heart. She won My Book Therapy’s Frasier award in 2014 after finaling in the contest in 2013. She was a Genesis 2015 finalist in the romance category, and she finaled in the Launching a Star Contest and the Phoenix Rattler in 2012. An active member of RWA, ACFW and My Book Therapy, Jeanne blogs about life and relationships at http://jeannetakenaka.wordpress.com. A graduate with an M.A. in education, she resides in Colorado with her husband and two exuberant teenage boys who daily give her lessons in relying on God.