The plotter may have to step in...

Well after a really slow start and then going at a fast clip (for me!) i seem to have come to screeching granny steps.

I have my characters who are bright and very determined to have their story told, i even have scenes further on in the story jumping at me to be written, but that seems to be the problem...

Getting my characters to those scenes that they are telling me they want, need to be at is the problem. They are not ready to be there just yet where i have written to so far. I'm not writing fast enough for them it would seem so i just have to keep plodding along, but how to get there??

I think this is where a bit of the plotter is going to have to kick in. I'm not going to map out the entire rest of their story, just a few points on how to get to the scenes they want to be at it would seem, as i can't seem to get them there so far. I don't want to lose the passion of the pantser as it is working for me so far (see previous posts!), so i will not be letting the plotter take over completely.

Does anyone else have these problems?

Pen versus Computer and Writing Styles

How do you write?

Do you plan your story with pen and paper with a detailed outline of plot or a few notes on character?

Or do you use a nice white screen and type with black letters across the pages as the scene unfolds before your eyes?

I spent the week adrift with no access to a computer to keep my mother company for the last week of the school holidays, so had to use good ol' pen and paper for writing. This was not a problem. The words flowed beautifully (until the ink ran out!), the scenes are coming fast and my characters are really, really working well.

The problem i have now is that now i am home do i continue writing with pen and paper or on the computer? If on the computer i first have to type up what i have written last week - or do i? It will be a great chance to edit what i've written but that is slightly naughty as i'm not supposed to do this until i have finished the story in it's entirety.

And, if i use the computer i know i am going to be distracted by checking blogs and surfing the internet etc.

While adrift for the week i was writing approx. 1,200 words each sitting. I say approx. because there is no accurate way of counting each word except for actually counting them and i am so not going to do that.

(I do have a pen that has a battery and when you write it captures the writing and then uploads it later to the computer but the battery died and i haven't replaced it. It's one of those really small cell batteries.) No excuse and it is great, really need to replace it!

I think i liked being away from the internet. I don't have a laptop, am going to be saving so hard now - as well as for the landscaping for our new house (priorities though right!!! ;p) I really want to do my writing where i won't be distracted so i am going to have to be really strict with myself now that i know what i am capable of.

Also i have realised with this story that my writing style is a bit different. I am a plotter at heart. I thrive on a plan, have lists for everything. Detailed descriptions of my hero and heroine, their motivations and dreams. But for this story, this version at least, not the plot.

I am writing by the seat of my pants, GASP, for this story i am a pantser. The inner plotter in me is wanting me to stop and write a plan for what is happening next and what is going to go on from there etc etc etc, but the story is thriving! I am not feeling bored or getting stuck as i have found as soon i had written a detailed outline for all of my other stories.

I think i have to let myself go and let my characters drive the stories. I am excited about where they are taking me, so much so that the scenes are jumping out at me and i find myself having to jot down a note when they do out of sequence so i know what is coming up (i can't write out of sequence no matter how much that scene wants to be written!), but my characters know what is coming and they are driving it and it is so good. But the plotter in me is trying to put on the brakes i can feel her trying to stop. I hope she doesn't! I know, just know as soon as i write down the outline i won't have the passion, the drive for this story that is going. I am going to be strong. :)

So what is your writing style, your preference? What do you have to fight against to get your story written??

5-5-5 Tag and an Award!

First off, i'd like to thank Suzanne Jones for nominating for the Beautiful Blogger Award (see the award on the side bar!) thanks for much Suzanne! It's nice to know my ramblings brighten someone's day or make someone laugh or cringe or whatever!!

Maisey Yates posted a tag on her blog and tagged the first five readers for a fun quiz.

Here are my answers to break the flow - which is going great! - in my writing.

The deal is to answer five questions with five answers to it, so here goes:

Question 1. Where were you five years ago?

1. Newly Married

2. About 2 months pregnant with first baby. Honeymoon baby.

3. Working at IRD. NZ tax department call centre

4. two months away from my 23rd birthday.

5. not writing, just dreaming about it.

Question 2. What is (was) on your to do list?

1. make the bed for mum to come for the weekend

2. clean the floors.

3. get kids and self dressed

4. take kids to the shops and some holiday entertainment

5. write about 500 words.

Question 3. What 5 snacks do you enjoy?

1. chocolate

2. chips

3. balsamic rice crackers

4. cheesecake

5. ice cream

Question 4. What five places have you lived?

1. Rotorua, NZ (when under 5)

2. Lower Hutt, Wellington, NZ

3. Hamilton East, Hamilton, NZ

4. Pukete, Hamilton, NZ

5. Chartwell, Hamilton, NZ

Question 5. What 5 things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Own a bookstore chain

2. Give anonymous charitable donations to animal and childrens charities

3. Travel

4. Write all day

5. Spend time with my kids

these are pretty boring but i don't really know what i'd do! probably really go shopping first and buy everything i've ever wanted but don't really need and then get sick of it, but could you ever really?? Don't think i'd get sick of writing or spending time with my kids, they grow way too quickly and the things they come up with...

5 bloggers i'm tagging (you don't have to!):

Kaily Hart

Francine

Ju Dimello

Lacey Devlin

Nicola Marsh

I also nominate you lovely ladies for the Beautiful Blogger Award too! I enjoy reading your blogs and following your writing journeys whether you are established or learning just like me!

Revealing too Much, much too soon!

Okay, the writing is going really well now, i'm really pleased.

Last night i wrote close to 1,000 words the most i have written in a sitting for a while now, mostly due to time. I'm getting to the point where my Hero is going to reveal his proposal/demand of my heroine which is totally going to floor her, but for her own convoluted reasons she is going to accept it, with a few demands of her own of course!

My only problem now is that i find myself revealing way too much of their inner conflicts too soon. I'm only part way through the second chapter and i found myself reveal ALL of Billie's conflicts. In all of the Moderns/Heats that i've read conflicts were revealed gradually throughout the entire book sometimes not being completely revealed until the black moment. I'm so impatient and way too descriptive i find myself explaining everything, so i've had to cut and paste or just keep writing and then put huge page breaks between for use at a later date - i hate wasting what i've written (unless it is utter crap!).

Does anyone else suffer from early information overload or impatience like me, and how do you overcome this? Obviously with practice! But what else would you suggest?