I do all of my story writing (short stories, novels, etc) on a computer (usually my iBook), but there are times when I write myself into a corner, and I need to use a less high tech option.
I’m working on a novel right now (Night of the Lonely Werewolf, working title) and I’m at about 65,000 words (out of a goal of around 80,000), and I realized I was losing track of where things were going.
I had started this story back in November for Novel Writing Month. I got the first 50,000 words done in 24 days and fell off the wagon for the next six months. I only recently started working on it (nearly) every day. The problem with there being such a huge break between working on this thing, is that I forgot where I originally wanted to go with the section of the story I’m currently writing.
However, since it is the first draft, I write whatever feels good/works for the moment and move on, but today I had to stop and think about a few things. I have some plot points I need to make sure get resolved, and I need to figure out how to connect certain plot points to others.
So, I opened up to a new page in my notebook (I try to keep a note book for whatever novel I’m working on and try to keep everything together) and started writing things down. I do the ‘draw a word in a bubble and connect other bubbles to it’ thing–whatever that is called (Brainstorming?).
It helps. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me. It helps get my thought process going a bit faster, and I think it is because I can see everything before me, “Ok…they’re going here, and this character wants this…Oh, wait, I can have that character do this…” You get the idea.
Doing that helped me work out a couple snags for the section I’m at, and how to link it with what I wrote back in November (and to the rest of the story as a whole). I know there are computer programs that can do that same process, but honestly I just prefer writing it down on paper–I can get ideas out faster, I think.
And some times, those spur of the moment/top of your head thoughts or ideas can be what your story really needs, especially when you’re working on a first draft.
