How To - Writing, Step TWO

A few weeks have passed and the little notebook, kept inseparably attached to your writing pen, is rapidly filling with notations, sketches, thoughts and images.  Random though these may appear, you now have the opportunity to create an organized story out of the scrolled chaos scribbled over the pages of that precious little book.

The assembly of your cacography into a coordinated thread of ideas is the next step...aka: creating an Outline.

(This is actually my least favorite step!)

Typically, once an author has a fair number of pages filled with ideas, he also has a relatively good idea about what his story will become.  At this point, the great temptation is to begin the act of writing the actual story, bypassing the important step of outlining the plot - including character devlopment.  I am one of these authors who have been unmercifully enticed into skipping the outline in lieu of writing the story.  However, this is never a good idea....particulary for me!

I learned a valuable lesson from a very famous, very successful author - someone I admire tremendously.  J.K. Rowling understood the importance of the outline.  For FIVE YEARS, Ms. Rowling outlined the Harry Potter series, beginning with that infamous train ride sketching ideas on napkins as she travelled through Scotland the day Harry Potter was created.  Not only did J.K. Rowling outline the plots, she also outlined the details of each intricate allotment in her stories, ie: the type of feather used in each wand, the smells and tastes of the food consumed in the dining hall, the rulebook for Quiddich, the color of the woodwork in Snape's office, etc.  My admiration for the dedication of this talented writer allowed me to take a step back, breathe deep and begin the process of outlining my own series. 

Initially, outlining your story will feel an arduous task.  Fortunately, the notebook you have compiled will assist you and as your outline progresses, the skeletal portion of your story will take shape.  Start by identifying the conflict and subsequen resolution.  What ultimate antagonism will your hero/heroine face and how will they overcome it (assuming they do)?   The events that occur prior to this climax and those that follow are the rest of the outline.

Creating the basic blueprint for your novel is worth your time and dedicated effort to complete.  My advice is to follow the example of those who have proven successful - such as J.K. Rowling.  There will be much more to add to this outline in time but without it, detail will be lost and the spine of your story will be soft. 

So here's to the strength of a well-written story!  Here's to the OUTLINE!

Resolutions? Not for THIS Girl!!

2013 just arrived and I'm taking a new approach.  NO more resolutions!!  No way, no how!  I don't know anyone who has ever kept their New Year's resolutions so I'm not doing it either.  Actually there is a good reason for my outspoken offense about this annual tradition - I believe in Intentions.

For the past several years, the power of intention and positive thought has been a subject of interest to me.  I believe in this...call it "faith".  Pure, unadulterated, let go and let be FAITH.  The sheer strength of the power of faith has manifest itself over and over again in my life, more recently than I remember from my earlier years.  Perhaps this is because my altruistic belief in my own invincibility has waned somewhat with age and experience.  I've been forced to turn to a higher power and have faith that there is someone or something more powerful than me that loves me enough to create the exact experience I am meant to have during this lifetime.  The concept blows the mind. 

Looking back over the last two years I can see events that came into my life creating exquisite pain, turmoil and self-doubt.  Out of those events bloomed opportunity and the knowledge of self ability and worth.  Specifically, a story generated in my head one summer during the deep, dark star-filled nights which was discovered and now slated to become a feature film.  It never would have happened had I not lost everything I had hoped for, subsequently turning my life course in a different direction entirely.  At that moment when I felt the most despair at the prospects facing me, I opened my soul to whatever my higher power had waiting for me.  That moment of abandonment, the instant when there is no plan and life is turned over to the outstretched hands of God waiting to accept everything, is the moment of Faith. 

Letting go and letting God.

Resolutions are self-controlled, self-driven projects that occasionally produce our limited ideas of what success is meant to look like.  However, I propose that the power of Intention (asking for that which is wanted from the deepest places within our hearts - then letting go of the outcome, knowing what is exactly perfect for us will be given) brings true success and immense accomplishment, joy and peace.  This is my intention - along with a few specific tangible "wants", like the film production and the release of my second book.  Ultimately, I know whatever is exactly perfect for me will be mine in 2013 if I simply let go and believe...have Faith.

And so, my 2013 will exist with Intention -

Happiest New Year!