Had a good meeting with the writers' group yesterday. We gained another member, putting us at 6 if we all keep coming. There were only four of us there yesterday counting the new guy, but the other two had excused absences.
The new guy is a little farther along than the rest of us. He has completed two novels, even though he's dropped the first in a drawer and is trying to forget about it.
He and I talked about outlines and he's a big proponent. I am coming around on using them. He goes with the full-fledged paper outline. Mine is more mental and I've talked about it before. I know where I want to start a story, where I want it to end and a few of the details in between. He has each chapter thought out in his outline. He knows, for example, that in a certain chapter he needs to get the heroes on a plane and to a certain location. He may know know exactly how he's going to do that, but if he does get the characters where they need to go then he's been successful. It's a method that I am going to try with the longer piece I've been working on. I need to make the outline for the chapters I have already written and then outline what's left to write. I know how I want this to end, just need to figure out the in-between.
Glad you had a great time. I hope this continues to inspire you to keep on writing. Like you told me earlier, you just have to keep doing it and practicing. You will continue to get better with your words and will start submitting work soon. I hope you are sticking to your original submission dates and other important dates you have set for yourself.
ReplyDeleteI am trying to stick to my goals. I am planning on putting a final polish on a couple of pieces and submit them tomorrow before I head in to work. After that I wait. And write some more.
ReplyDelete