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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Pow Wow Trading Post

                                                       
I'm not sure if this place still exists but it does in my story. It's one of the things my main character, Kass, sees on her way out of Holbrook, AZ. That and the Navajo County Sheriff, the United Methodist Church, and the Beautiful Badlands Buffet. All thanks to Google Earth. Did you know you can zoom in and actually follow a street? See the actual sidewalk, houses, cars, businesses? It's pretty neat and considering how grounded my current wip is in reality this has been a truly helpful tool. And no, I don't get paid to sing Google's praises. Although, now that I think about it, I should!

Anyhow. This is a whole different way of writing for me, all this reality (which I'm not a huge fan of, btw). No trolls no wizards no spells. Not to mention the outlining which worked so well for the first part of the book. Of course, after that my notes got a little vague so I'm back to pantsting, lol. I can see now that there's more trial and error writing this way - at least for me. I follow a particular path and then find I can't make it lead where I want so have to back track, often many times. I know I'll make my way through eventually but I have to say it was a little easier with everything plotted out. I may become a convert - if I can ever manage to do it properly.

How do you write? Is it different each time or do you have a plan? 

 

28 comments:

  1. I have NO IDEA how I'm going to get to my planned ending from the point I'm at right now. All I can say is, I know what happens in the next two-three chapters. I guess as long as that remains true, maybe I'll blindly find the way to The End.

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    1. I know you will. You have to. Because you can't leave me hanging half way through.

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  2. I have a "general" plan, but then I let the story take me where it wants to. That usually happens via a night when I'm not sleeping and a good idea comes to me.

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    1. I get lots of ideas at bed time, too.

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  3. It's different for me depending on a lot of factors but genre is definitely one of them. Tense is another, and voice- main character is male or female, old or young. Every time it's a new experience for me whether I have a solid outline or not but that's how I like it. Good luck!

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    1. Yes, I think that's true for me, too. Each time it's a different experience.

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  4. I'm kind of a hybrid writer actually. I outline a day or two before I write a scene then I pants it. I outline a little more and then I pants it again. It's a two step forward, one step back approach. Probably why I'm so slow at getting a first draft done. I probably delete a third of all my scenes by the time I'm through writing.

    And that Google street view is amazing! I've been all over England and Wales with it. LOVE IT.

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    1. I adore street view. It is wicked cool :)

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  5. Reality??!! *shiver*

    My writing method evolves as I continue to learn and grow. In the past, I scribbled down stories that had been rolling around in my head for years. Now, fresh un-molded tales are converging and it is a unique experience for me.

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    1. I love new ideas - better if they come when I'm not working on anything else!

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  6. I was just in Holbrook in July! A friend and I took a road trip around the Southwest, and Holbrook was just amazing! And yay for Google Earth--what an awesome tool.

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    1. That's cool. It seems like an interesting town.

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  7. This is such a great tip, because I find having a visual helps in my wiritng.

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    1. Yes, I've found it to be extremely helpful with my current work.

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  8. speaking of google earth, i have a friend, who, when you zoom in on her apartment, you can see her boyfriend standing outside (his face is blurred out)
    What are the chanceS?

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  9. I'm a plotter, but my outlines are pretty loose.

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    1. Yeah, I'm thinking I want to head more towards plotting. I think I may produce better work that way. But we'll see...

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  10. Google has mapped out everything!
    I outline every time. Otherwise, I'd get lost.

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  11. I have a rough outline which I write to. It can get pretty loose though!

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    1. Well, sometimes things change, right? I wouldn't want my outline to be etched in stone.

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  12. Replies
    1. I outlined the first part and it really helped keep me on track.

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  13. i love all this unique reality!
    we pants our way thru life, cant plan for everything, same in our writing =)

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  14. I have a plan, but it seems to constantly change. I either need drugs for my ADD, or to trim my projects down to about a 100!

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  15. I plan like nobody's business, but then I seem to struggle on the actual writing ... I think I prefer the planning to be honest. It's a funk I need to break out of.

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