I seemed destined to write nonfiction. The article fascinated me\u2014how could so many different writers treat the same topic in so many different ways? My desire\u2014my dream\u2014was to write articles for magazines. And I did for many years. That\u2019s how I made my living.<\/p>\n
Over the years, I continued writing nonfiction books and articles on subjects I knew and those I wanted to research. Until one day, the fiction bug niggled at me. Many of you know I\u2019ve been writing and publishing light mysteries (revved up cozy mysteries) now for two years. The sixth in the Klepto Cat Mystery series will debut soon. The seventh is completed and will go to the proofreader Monday. And yesterday I plotted out number eight.<\/p>\n
I did the plotting a little differently this time. Usually I just start writing and watch the story unfold and the characters develop. This time, the complete story seemed to be whirling around in my head wanting to come out all at once. My writing was a bit stilted because the story was racing to be told and I couldn\u2019t organize it in my mind fast enough to adequately tell it. What to do?<\/p>\n
Yesterday, I sat down and outlined the plot in 45 segments\u2014organizing my thoughts representing the progressive storyline. This exercise used up four and a half typewritten pages. Now I will refer to each section of the plot outline to guide me in writing the book. Now I can see what happens and what should happen next, and on and on. I can write in the details and nuances as I go\u2014or later, if I decide to create the shell of the story first. Knowing my style, I will probably do a lot of fleshing out as I go along during the creation of the first draft. I generally wind up with 50,000 to 60,000 words after my first go-through.<\/p>\n
How many times do I ultimately \u201cgo through\u201d one of my fiction books? I should keep count because this is one of many questions I\u2019m frequently asked. But I\u2019d say no fewer than a dozen.<\/p>\n
As a professional writer of nonfiction, I taught myself a process where I will self-edit numerous times for different purposes\u2014focusing on different aspects each time. Once I feel the story is set, I\u2019ll go over the manuscript again focusing mainly on punctuation\u2014did I close all of the quotes and appropriately use commas, for example. I\u2019ll go through checking for overuse of certain words and repeated words, as well as making sure certain slang and habitual words are attributed to certain characters. (You can\u2019t have everyone using the same pet slang.) I might use one go-through concentrating mainly on character credibility. Is this the way that character would act\/speak? Then I reread the story through a reader\u2019s eyes\u2014does it make sense, does it flow, can the reader visualize what I had in mind when I wrote it, is there just enough description\/explanation, is the story told through action and dialog or am I putting too much of me in there?<\/p>\n
I can write a novel in two months. My flow seems to be three and a half months per book and that\u2019s with life\u2019s flow and obligations\u2014those things that interrupt your writing.<\/p>\n
One thing I notice I don\u2019t do is plan for future plots. I didn\u2019t start thinking about the plot for the current book I\u2019m working on\u2014book eight\u2014until I was halfway through with the editing for book seven. And I think that was because it was so hot. That\u2019s when I decided that my little fictional family and their pet menagerie should spend some time on the coast. Then I had the task of trying to make this transition realistic.<\/p>\n
I have to tell you, there\u2019s power in storytelling\u2014story-creation\u2026 I used to exert that power as a nonfiction writer. I could make readers think. I could change minds, even cause conflict and tension. As a writer of fiction, I can change a character\u2019s mind, develop a new character, kill off a character, etc. at the strike of a key. And I can arouse a chuckle, a tear, even anger in my readers. That\u2019s the power of the written word.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I seemed destined to write nonfiction. The article fascinated me\u2014how could so many different writers treat the same topic in so many different ways? My desire\u2014my dream\u2014was to write articles for magazines. And I did for many years. That\u2019s how I made my living. Over the years, I continued writing nonfiction books and articles on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,4],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t