[stylist] Story development strategy?

[Justin Oldham]

Hello Brad:

I'm the author of a few large books, myself.  I do use an outline process to 
avoid tangets.  It's my opinion that big stories contain big ideas, and/or 
lots of chracters, and/or a long passage of time.  For this reason, an 
outline (no matter how crude) DOES serve a purpose.

Developing the "big" story is hard because you can get bogged down in the 
little things.  This results in sub plots that don't need to be there.  I, 
personally, get better at this with each big book I write.  I overcome this 
problem by employing a vicious brutal editor who has no mercy.

Being signed to a major publishing house doesn't confer greatness upon any 
writer.  Nor does it guarantee editorial efficiency.  One reader's 
blubbering whiner is another reader's deep sensitive soul.  I will hazard a 
guess that you expected more from this writer be-cause they had the big time 
book deal.

I get the feeling that you are, in some small way, also taking issue with 
the writer's method.  Making it up as you go along is called 
Stream-Of-Consciousness.  Its a very popular way of writing.  It is 
unstrucutred, to be sure.  Some people say its lazy or undisciplined. 
Others call it a higher form of art that shows us the soul of the author. 
Its also the only way some people can tell their story.

It's been my experience that one in ten writers are what you'd call 
technicians.  They jot down their outlines and use very specific 
calibrations to mold their work.  I, personally, am a technican.  Every word 
that goes on to one of my pages is plotted, schemed, and re-thoguht before 
use.

I don't force this on any of the writers I mentor.  It all comes down to how 
you are wired.  Story-telling dates back to the beginning of time.  Oral 
traditions have carried over in to writing.  Stream of consciousness doesn't 
work for me, but it does work for almost everybody else.

The one best piece of advice I can give on the matter is this.  Make a note 
of what somebody did that you don't like and remember it.  Then, don't do it 
in your own work.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brad Dunse'" <lists at braddunsemusic.com>
To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 11:32 AM
Subject: [stylist] Story development strategy?


>.  At the end of an audio  book I read  a while back they had an interview 
>with the author. He was saying with his writing he develops the storyline 
>as he writes, puts little to no forethought in the story and felt it to be 
>more interesting to a reader that way. To be honest I don't recall his name 
>but he had a series of books out and was signed with a book deal not 
>self-publishing.
>
> While his story over all in the end was pretty good, I took double takes 
> on some of the emotional areas of the book. Only slightly exaggerating 
> here he spent an inordanant amount of time with the main character 
> begging, gravveling, pleading and balling his eyes out over a person he 
> was semik-close to in the story. It kept cropping up a number of times. 
> It was getting to the point my wife and I were laughing "Oh no, not again 
> going on and on and on and on with the girl", who wasn't even a large 
> character in the book other than real estate used up on her. But when his 
> dad died, who he had a good relationship with, it was something like "Oh 
> yeah, and dad died. Then I applied for a job atso and so's place..."
>
> So my question is on large projects, do you have an outline or at least 
> know the big picture of the twists and turns leaving flexibility for 
> creative twists or improvs? Or do you just wing it as you go and ride the 
> keyboard to the end?
>
> I do the latter in songwriting with my instrument but those are short 
> lived and one point or themed writings even if they are a story song.
>
> It seemed to me an editor did a major booboo missing the emotional ratio 
> and proportion factor with some of the characters and event emphasis in 
> this authors project.
>
> Brad
>
>
>
> Brad Dunse
>
> Music is to the soul, what water is to the body
>
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