Memorable Scenes

The beautiful thing about being an author is the individuality of this process. How we write is as unique as what we write. Personally, I admire writers who can sit down, develop a story, outline the scenes and trace the character development in this pristine, step-by-step guide. Others write their synopsis and follow it as they write their scenes.

And then there is me. Hot mess or octopus in a roller derby. I’ll let y’all decide.

At The Book Exchange in Marietta, who hosted me and fellow Colorful Crow writer, Barbara Tucker (Sudden Future), we were asked if we were a planner or pantser when it came to writing. Barbara is a planner and I’m a pantser. I’ve written before that most of my works start as a convo between two characters. Well, often that convo happens somewhere smack in the middle of the book, so I’m filling out both ends. Heck, with The Disposable, the conversation wasn’t even in the book!

Something else I do that flies in the proverbial face of most advice (did I mention I get a little stiff-necked when I’m told how to do something?) is I don’t keep a pen and notebook by my bed. If an idea wakes me up, I’m probably not going back to sleep anyway. I also probably won’t get up, but play the idea around in my mind and look at it from different angles.

Last night, I was praying over my writing. It is a gift from my Abba as well as a gift I give to him, so I pray over it and I give thanks over it. Anyway, that’s another post. I prayed for some ideas to add to The Disturbed and I said simply, “If it comes to me before I go to sleep, let it still be with me in the morning.” To me, if I remember it, it’s more likely a memorable scene. I had several good ideas that I’m working on now. I can’t wait for The Disturbed to come out.

I will say a challenge to the pantser method of writing is when I reach a certain point and I’m having to add scenes into a mostly finished manuscript. It’s hard because I have to pinpoint the where and then I have to make sure it doesn’t mess up anything before it or after it. Not just the chapter before or after, but the entire manuscript. It’s usually in these moments I declare with vehemence that I will become a planner, a plotter and I will never deviate from that. We all know that isn’t true, though. So, I continue to iron the wrinkles I created.

Isn’t that the beautiful thing about writing? Pantsers and planners both get it done.