Day 7

Word count:

Today - 1664
Total - 11719

Last year, I knew exactly what story I wanted to tell. It was something I'd been thinking about for a long time. I knew how it started and how it ended and a lot of what happened in between. So, when the time came to write it, I decided I would begin at the beginning and keep going until I reached the end.

That proved to be a mistake.

I know some people write by starting with a character or a situation and letting the story unfold from there. Me, I tend to think in terms of high points I want to include and what kind of impact I want them to have. The blood, sweat, and tears comes from trying to hammer it all into shape so that the arc of the story feels completely natural and inevitable. This generally takes a hell of a long time too.

So last year, I was trying to write a very structured, linear story, without the benefit of enough time to do the kind of shaping it needed. Not surprising, I got stuck.

This year, I decided to throw structured, linear storytelling out the window. Forget rigid plotting - hell, forget chronology. I'm writing the scenes that need to be written, without stressing over what order they're supposed to go in or what other scenes I'm going to need in order to connect them. No time for intricate planning now; I can always sew things together later.

And yeah, this new approach has helped me a lot so far. Not being locked onto one track keeps things exciting and fresh.