I am a by-the-seat-of-my-pants writer. While, that is a pretty fun way to write for me, I have some organizational issues to address. I have three separate story lines going on and it is now time to weave them all together, so today I came up with this idea (I'm calling it Order of Events) as a way for me organize my thoughts.
I'm sharing it below. KEEP IN MIND, I AM NO EXPERT! I am working on my first novel, trying to figure it all out. I love to read tips from other writers, so I'm posting my tip in case someone out in blogland can use it.
Order of Events for Multiple Story Lines --
1. Write down story events for each story line separately. (Example below)
Three pigs set out on their own.
One pig built a house out of straw, one of sticks, one of bricks.
The wolf huffed and he puffed.
Wolf Came and blew the house down....Little Red Riding Hood went into the forest
She visited her grandmother.
She noticed large teeth, ears and mouth.
Grandmother was really a wolf and ate her.
Josh just moved into a creepy old house by the woods.
The kids in the neighborhood didn't like him.
They told him stories about wolves living in the forest.
One day, he met a wolf and it was nothing like the fairy tales!
2. Color code the story lines.
Three pigs set out on their own.
One pig built a house out of straw, one of sticks, one of bricks.
The wolf huffed and he puffed.
Wolf Came and blew the house down....
Little Red Riding Hood went into the forest
She visited her grandmother.
She noticed large teeth, ears and mouth.
Grandmother was really a wolf and ate her.
Josh just moved into a creepy old house by the woods.
The kids in the neighborhood didn't like him.
They told him stories about wolves living in the forest.
One day, he met a wolf and it was nothing like the fairy tales!3. Weave the stories together chapter by chapter to get the right flow, pacing and suspense.
Three pigs set out on their own.
One pig built a house out of straw, one of sticks, one of bricks.
Little Red Riding Hood went into the forest
Josh just moved into a creepy old house by the woods.
She visited her grandmother.
She noticed large teeth, ears and mouth.
The kids in the neighborhood didn't like him.
The wolf huffed and he puffed.
They told him stories about wolves living in the forest.
Wolf Came and blew the house down....
Grandmother was really a wolf and ate her.
One day, he met a wolf and it was nothing like the fairy tales!
P.S. If this made no sense, whatsoever, just laugh and do it your own way ;0).
How do you pull your book together?
I might give this a try. Right now I use a system - I hate to use that term, it denotes some type of organization and I really have none) of post it notes, index cards, notebooks etc. It's a mess!
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting because the novel I'm writing has three seperate story lines and I've had no idea as to how I'm going to go about writing them. Thanks for the suggestion, I will definitely give it a try!
ReplyDeleteSam
http://writingthroughcollege.blogspot.com/
Li, LOL! Most of us have that same system! Small world. Hee hee.
ReplyDeleteSamantha, Great! I hope it will be helpful. BTW, I stopped by your blog and am following you.
I totally get what you're saying and it makes good sense. I'm going to have to try this approach if I do something with multiple story lines. So far I haven't gone a multiple story line approach, but I like multiple story lines.
ReplyDeleteLee
Tossing It Out
Lee, Great! Thanks for commenting! It is affirming to hear that my instructions were clear!
ReplyDeleteDawn, thanks for the tips, only on the beginning stages of writing so any tips are most welcomed. Have a blessed weekend. Amanda
ReplyDeleteAmanda - Realityarts-Creativity
Art Blog
Great post--good teaching for all writers. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, You go girl! That is so exciting!
ReplyDeleteSusan, Thanks. I'll be visiting you soon.