A blog is a dangerous thing.
Back in the old, old days, whenever I started a new writing project I would sequester myself in my den, working feverishly by the dim light of my computer monitor, completely alone. It would be months before even my wife (always my first reader) saw any of the fruits of this labor, and then months (or years) more before the outside world got a taste.
Now, it's so tempting to just spew my burgeoning ideas into the ethers of the Net. But I will resist.
What I can say is that I love the process of creation. When it comes to writing, I'm a planner. I want to know everything before I commit to actual writing: the setting, the characters, the story. But most of all, I want to know the Big Answer-- what is this book (or series) going to be about?
For my next series (I mentioned it was going to be a series, didn't I?) I have the Big Answer. Or I should say I have My answer, because when you read these books you might have very different ideas about them. And that's healthy for both of us.
So enough about my crazy ideas. For you writers out there, what do you need to know before you start writing a new story?
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The Official Blog of fantasy author Jon Sprunk.
8 comments:
I used to only see bits and pieces of action, character faces. Lately, it seems like certain drivers are supporting the scenes in my head. Or maybe they were always there, i just couldn't decifer them.
Greed and guilt are driving my current short.
I need to see the first pivotal scene in my, either the opening scene of the dark moment of the plot. That gives me the mood of the piece tells me who the main character and his or her perspective. The Big Answer usually comes later, after I've written the bare bones of the first draft. Then I usually have an ah-ha moment as in, "Oh. So that's what I'm writing about!"
Yippee, a new Sprunk series. I usually think about a book for months before I start it.
I end up thinking about my next piece whilst writing a current piece. I think about scenes then build on them, then invisage characters and build on them too. That way when the time comes for me to start, I know everything - near enough. Of course twists and turns can happen along the way, and I greet them with interest. I don't know where they come from, but they build some real interesting bridges. And whilst writing them down, I'm thinking about another piece... ;)
Amazing how everyone works a little differently.
Can't wait for this series :D
And I think I'm just weird how I write - I need to have the title first, the ending next, before having my characters. The opening scene is important, but comes later, as well as the whole point to the series or novel. I tend to work from small details into the bigger picture =\
Before 'the idea' congeals into something with form, I get lots of random scenes with characters I don't yet know. Usually I just write them down until I figure out what I want to do with them. It's easy to tell which scenes go with 'the idea' and which don't though. They have a certain feel. Once I get enough of the idea, I'll make a rough outline and go from there.
Madison, for the scenes that don't fit, do you keep in them in some sort of file for future use?
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