It's been a while, but we're back with more Ask Lennon questions. This one was a three-parter.
How do you prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed by the several directions in which you can take your story? What happens when you do get overwhelmed? Any strategies to help get back on track?
Great questions all! Let's go through them bit by bit.
How do I prevent myself from getting overwhelmed by all the story directions?
By the time I delve into writing the shitty first draft, I've already outlined the whole story so I don't really get pulled into several different directions. It's been decided and planned out, I'm done with the thinking part. During the plotting/outlining phase, however, it's true that a writer can get overwhelmed by the many different options for their story. For me, the direction gets decided by two things. A) The genre. B) What's most interesting to me.
For example, when I've settled on YA fantasy as opposed to, say, romance or murdery mystery, the plot-focus is chosen for me. Obviously, I'm going to focus more on magic and adventure than the romance or love triangle in a romance novel or the mystery and thriller aspects that are the main focus for a murder mystery. So, a plot that is adventure- and magic-driven is decided.
Then, I think about what's most interesting to me. To start, I write down in a notebook all the elements I want in the story. For THE LAST HEIR OF EXCALIBUR, I wanted a female King Arthur who goes on a quest, a gender-reversed fairy tale, Bridgerton-esque political games, and a cult. But, of course, only one of those could be the main element with all the others as background. So, I picked what I was most intrigued by: the female King Arthur who gets to go on an exciting quest. That became my main focus for the primary plot (the A story). Once I had that focus, the outline shaped itself and the other stuff was added as B, C, and D stories.
What happens when I do get overwhelmed?
Juggling so many storylines and plot threads can be really overwhelming, which is why I depend so fully on an outline. With a good outline, I can organize all the threads and ensure each is getting their proper beginning, middle, and end. Just like the story as a whole, each thread needs an Act I, II, and III.
My strategies to get back on track
Re-do the outline. Seriously. Can't stress enough how important outlining is to my process. Sometimes, the original plan didn't work out. If I need to get back on track, I go straight back to the beginning but now with more information than I had when I wrote the first outline. I can go back and create a new one, this time with some story and scenes already written out.
I put these three together because the answers to each are the same: Outline, outline, and then outline some more.
Have a question of your own? Submit it through the contact box on my website for the next Ask Lennon submission.
Comments