I’ve been revising and editing for months and months. For the most part I enjoy both of these tasks. It’s exciting to see how each change improves the story or the flow or the characterization. But...
I’ve also got a lot of ideas for new stories rolling around in my head, trying desperately to get out. I work out parts of the story before I put anything at all down on my laptop. The first scenes I imagine are the ones at the end of the story - the culmination scenes. From there I develop the main character, then the other characters. The setting is usually interwoven throughout these scenes, but I start fine-tuning it at this point. Then I jump backwards to the beginning part of the story.
I know where the characters end up. I just need to start writing so I can find out how they get there.
So, what comes first when you get a new idea: the ending, the beginning, the setting or the characters?
I always start with just the beginning, and if I'm lucky, a hint of what's to come. I've given up on plotting since my characters refuse to obey.
ReplyDeleteI love the way your characters take off on their own! Mine do that too, but to a much lesser extent. I'm still working out the beginning for my new story - but the ending is in much better shape :)
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