How my books develop (lately)
Step One: The Twinkle
Step Three: The Character
Step Six: Try It.
You know, not really a solid idea yet...just the hint of one. In the case of my current book it was this: Huh. I'd love to write a novel that deals with violin making. How many other writers get to watch something this amazing every day? (For those of you who don't know, my husband Mark is a professional violin maker.) And Stradivari did have three daughters...I wonder what their lives would have been like there...
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| One of Mark's recent violins |
Step Two: The Research
This step is often repeated, but for me, an idea will never become more than that if I don't pin down some facts first. For the first time, I plundered my husband's “Stradivari shelf” and read hundreds of pages about the man's life, family, town, and instruments. I found travel books and sites on Cremona, Italy, that helped flesh out my view and understanding of the setting. And I had one really good sign: the further I delved, the more excited I became.
When the idea stops being an idea and becomes a person, that's when I know for sure I have a book up my sleeves. I became obsessed with Antonio Stradivari's youngest daughter, Francesca, with her family life, her world, her personality. I continued Step Two (Research) and found books on the history of Italian food, so I would know what she ate, and European dress, so I would know what she wore.
I thought and thought about what she was like, then ironed out some wrinkles and created some interesting pleats and ruffles by deciding on a Myers-Briggs personality for ease and consistency. (If you're familiar with the code, Francesca is an INFJ, and her father is an ISFP.) I wrote journal entries in my character's POV, about the best and worst moments of her life, her daydreams, her life dreams, her hopes and fears. I made sure I knew exactly what she looked like, even if it would only be that clear in my head and in my notebook. (I once had an embarrassing situation where my hero went from having brown eyes to blue eyes by the end of a book and I didn't notice until my critique group got their hands on it...)
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| Edgar Bundy's portrayal of "El Stradmeister." Who IS that girl? |
Step Four: The Title.
I know, this is so miniscule. But I need a title to feel that a story is growing into something concrete. And boy, do I hate coming up with titles. Sometimes, I go through several, but there always has to be one by this point. Francesca's story is called AMBER AND FLAME.
Step Five: Remember Why You're Writing
This is a step new to this story, which has already helped incredibly. I wrote a list of all the twinkles and glimmers and ideas that made me want to write the story in the first place. I jotted down ideas for scenes that had been coming to life in my head. It's so easy to get caught up in the writing that you forget these things...but it always ends up coming back to them. I hope by having this road map of sorts that I can avoid losing my way.
I write a first chapter. That always seems to end up as an abandoned file titled, “Deleted stuff.” But I get an idea for the voice and style I'm after, without which I would never be able to proceed to...
Step Seven: The Skeleton
Yes, I'm a neurotic outliner. I'm always amazed to hear of people like Louis Sachar who can just write and have a story come (though he did go through an awful lot of complete drafts...), but I will never be among them. I don't outline every moment and feeling, but I do need a general idea of scenes and conflicts and arch or I will just give up in despair. In this story, I started with a one-sentence description and moved onto an outline of little sticky notes in my notebook, one for each general scene. As my sister said, “Whoa, somebody has a thing for sticky notes.”
Step Eight: Find a Good Source of Chocolate, Set Your Alarm for an Indecent Hour of the Morning, and Get Down to It.
This is where I am now. Why I have been very bad at blogging, but not too bad at writing. I have been meeting my page-a-day goal, which for me is quite a lot.
Someday I will add: “Step Nine: Hire a Wonderful Babysitter for an hour a day” to this list. But I might need an advance first.
It's fascinating hearing about other writers' processes! Ours are pretty similar. I like the idea of writing a chapter before creating the outline. I'll have to try that! Thanks for sharing your writing process. :)
ReplyDeleteOkay, firstly, I totally read "The Twinkle" as "The Twinkie," and was like, "YES! I love twinkies! So motivating!"
ReplyDeleteBut "twinkle" is awesome, too.
My process is somewhat more sporadic and condensed into writing madness--I always start with a character, but that character always has some sort of element to them that begs a plot. Key scenes kind of pop into my head, and I try to link them together. It's this weird, messy, organic thing that I can never quite beat into submission.
Sometimes, characters I never planned in my outline crop up. One such character has become a HUGE part of SPITFIRE, and will be in any subsequent novels I write in this world.
It's really awesome to see how other people do this, though! Thanks for sharing!
I love your steps. Especially step 5. Really, what a great way to remain both motivated and inspired. Great post! (And great idea, too. You are definitely qualified to tell Francesca's story!)
ReplyDeleteLaura--Yay, another outliner! :) I like to stick together so I never think I'm crazy for going through so much work. :)
ReplyDeleteShayda--Oh, golly, I forgot the Twinkie step! ;) Personally I prefer snacks of the chocolate variety, but sugar is always a good motivator. And I know what you mean about those unplanned characters. So often they end up being the real soul of the story, I think, and it's important for us to allow them room to grow in the story. Outlines can always be rewritten (and usually are, in my case)...
Hanna--Well, I had to rock-paper-scissors my husband for it... just kidding. :) Thanks for stopping by.
I, too, am an outliner, though my myriad sticky notes serve another purpose. I fill them with all the changes I come up with after the fact. You can barely see any corkboard beneath the mass of yellow squares.
ReplyDeleteAlso, unlike you, I tend to choose subjects about which I know next to nothing. For instance, in my current work, I've traded violins (which I've played since the age of 4) for violence (um... I once broke my hand on a wall). I guess I just like a challenge.
Best of luck with Amber and Flame! (By the way, Don't insert Salieri as a rival. It's been done to death.)
Wow Faith! I'm impressed (but not surprised) by your organization and research before you even start writing!! I'd never have the patience. And for some reason, my brain doesn't work that way - I need to start writing and then the characters come alive for me - because they do things I don't expect and tell me their story.
ReplyDeleteYour story of Francesca sounds mesmerizing though. Keep writing that page a day - I want to read it!!
Love the steps! It's cool you know your creative process well enough to identify each stage. I go through similar steps... except that title one is usually way later. Ah, titles. A tricky business. :)
ReplyDeleteYou could do a lot with that idea. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNnate--thanks for stopping by. Violence, hmm. Not really my thing, but by a funny coincidence, someone once misheard my husband's statement of "I make violins" as "I make violence." Yeah, had to be there, but it made me laugh. (Oh, you don't have to worry about Salieri. I'm not sure where or how it was done to death, as he wasn't a contemporary of Stradivari's. I believe his rivalry was with Mozart.)
ReplyDeleteKiki--sometimes I wish I could write the way you do--outline-less. :) Frankly, I hate making them. And obviously you succeed very well without the trouble!
Samantha--yeah, eck, titles. This is the first one I've come up with on my own. My husband is usually better at them than I am.
MT--thank you!
I love these steps. They're similar to mine. I'm a neurotic outliner, too.
ReplyDeleteYour book sounds interesting, and I enjoyed reading about your process. I've been blogging less, too, so I can meet my writing goals. I'm doing my best to balance it, as we all are. It's great that you're meeting your daily goal. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteHa! Chocolate is wonderful and an essential part of writing--at all stages! Thanks for sharing your process--I found that mine is surprisingly similar to yours. Love the photos you shared, too. Ah, violins.
ReplyDelete