[stylist] Story development and strategy?

Mon Sep 26 17:16:16 UTC 2011

Bridget,
How do you remember dreams more than for a fleeting instant. Do you
immediately write down the details. I have the most wild and wonderful
dreams, and sometimes can get back into it after re-falling asleep. I even
invented things. However, after a few moments of waking I do not remember
details, and sometimes everything fades.
A technical question. Can one who has been blind from infancy dream? I would
imagine Yes, but perhaps without color or specific objects. Please, anyone,
enlighten me. 
I used to sleep with a tablet by my bed, but I can no longer read what I
write, so I am forced to remember everything.
Jacqui 

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Sunday, September 25, 2011 4:59 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Story development and strategy?

Brad,

Whether you use an outline or not, and any strategy followed is a part
of the writing process. How a writer develops a story is different,
though outlines are the common plan for most writers especially novel
writers.

Personally, I don't like using outlines even though I'm a pretty
organized person. However, the longest story I've written has been 30
pages for short stories. Perhaps if I ever attempt a longer manuscript,
I would employ an outline.

I can only explain my process. I like to mull my ideas for a while
before even putting pen to paper, so to speak. I often am inspired by my
dreams especially for fiction. Sometimes I have an entire dream that I
want to use, other times it is just a portion. Either way, when I wake
up, I'll lay in bed replaying it and developing ideas. Then I will write
a scene that sticks out in my mind, usually the last thing I saw in my
dreams. If I don't have time to write when I wake, I leave it until I
do. At this point, as long as I leave ideas in my head, not only do they
remain, the inspiration remains until I have time to sit and write
through the inspiration. This may sound crazy, but it works for me.

One of the reasons I don't like formal outlines is because stories and
characters have a way of developing themselves. And more often than not,
I rarely have a full story. I'll have a beginning and end, but no
middle, or beginning and middle, but no end. Sometimes I have an ending,
but no beginning or middle. It's as I write and think about
plots/characters that the story unfolds.

My nonfiction is even crazier in terms of the process. To date, the
nonfiction I've had published and/or people have praised was written in
one sitting, usually during a turbulent emotional moment. I certainly
edit over and over, but most my nonfiction (personal essay/memoir) has
been done in the matter of a day or two with the initial writing
happening at one time with little to know thought of a goal or
structure. If not already present, the structure emerges during the
revision and editing process.

And I'm extremely visual even though I no longer can "see." When I have
an idea for a piece, I like to watch it unfold in my mind like a movie.
This is how I visualize my work in my head. I quite literally see it in
my head just like scenes in a movie. I still have visual memories of
people and events even though I didn't visually see them in the moment.
Like I have detailed visual memories of my wedding six years ago, though
I couldn't see. I can pull any of this memories up and have a visual in
my head, whether the actual visual is accurate or not is another story,
but I have memories nonetheless. So it stands to reason that when I
write, fiction or nonfiction, it's a very visual process for me. It
happens inside my head just as much as it happens on the paper. After an
initial idea pops up, I like to spend a couple of days watching it in my
head to see if anything more develops from it. In a way, it's
role-playing just by myself in my head! LOL

Ideas are in our heads no matter what, but most writers I know like to
write what is happening in their head right away, whereas I like to keep
it in their to stew for a while.

Nonfiction and fiction alike, when I go back to pieces, I see where I
can add or edit. One essay I'd been working on had good individual
sections, but I wasn't finding a thread to make them flow as a
collective. One night, in dire need of a manuscript for a class,
inspiration hit and I found a structure that made it flow.

Even published authors go back and want to make changes. I know Stephen
King has actually published revised copies of books to make updates such
as with The Stand, which he wrote in 78, but it took place in 88. He
decided, years later, to update the novel, reflecting changes to make
the story more realistic to 1988 since it had happened. Rowling has said
she wished she would have done more editing with the Harry Potter series
especially Order of the Phoenix.

If I just can't find a direction for something, I put it away and come
back later. Like Chris, I did a lot of writing exercises only to come
back to them later and find a diamond in the rough. Writing exercises
not only sharpen and hone our skills, but they can act as conduits
providing us inspiration. One exercise done in a class didn't appear all
that great to me, but three years later I came back to it and turned it
into an entire personal essay.

Now, when writing something like historical fiction, I suppose an
outline would be beneficial to keep facts and dates straight. Or any
writing with factual information. Keeping a timeline helps keep this
kind of info straight.

Typically outlines are used for academic writing too, but again, I never
followed an outline unless it was required to turn an outline in. I've
always just written academic papers as I go, incorporating what quotes
and facts I need as I go along. This process doesn't work for everyone,
but I've never received less than an A on an academic paper, in high
school or college, so I never took the time to use an outline. I
followed suit with my creative writing. I just write, and it's in the
editing process that I add and delete and find structure and where a
piece is going. I have a much more organic process meaning I just do
what comes natural for me. I think I'm in a minority though. Most
writers I know follow some type of outline as they commit to a
manuscript.

Now, I do use outlines as a tool for instructional information or as a
listing tool when compiling ideas. This helps bring organization. For
instance, my mom asked me to draft a strategic plan for her dance studio
since she wants to create a nonprofit supplying scholarships to young
girls who can't afford dance classes. A strategic plan in and of itself
is an outline essentially, so I developed an outline detailing the goal
and direction, and what info was most important. This gave me a
structure to follow for the plan.

And a while back, our NFB chapter wanted to have written goals and
focuses for various committees our chapter has created through the
years. As committee members met and discussed the purpose for different
committees, I started drafting outlines to discover the purpose and
functionality of each committee. We didn't end up following through with
this plan, but the intention was for me to created in a written form the
purpose and goal of each committee. The outlines were to help me know
the focus of each committee, making it clear what to state and how to
state it.

So, now my response is turning into a novel! Perhaps I should follow
outlines for my Stylist posts! LOL What I could have done is say
outlines can be useful, but it depends on the person and what they're
writing. To each his own.

Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/

"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan

Message: 4
Date: Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:32:19 -0500
From: Brad Dunse' <lists at braddunsemusic.com>
To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: [stylist] Story development strategy?
Message-ID: <7.0.1.0.2.20110925141502.05799bd0 at braddunsemusic.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

.  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

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