A while back I posted a blog about my greatest fear as an author. No, it's not somebody I know reading my books (although that's pretty high on the list). It's running out of ideas.
Voicing this fear has had an unexpected effect - a slew of new ideas!
So now the question is, what do I do with all these new character voices clambering in the back of my head, demanding attention when I still have at least 10k words left to write in the draft started for NaNoWriMo?
The solution is simple -
Yes, I've discovered the easiest way to silence the voices is to give them names . . . give them descriptions . . . even give them a little back story.
Now for a little personal background. The first drafts of my early books, Tempest and Begin Anew, were written by the seat of my pants. Hell, in Tempest my initial inclination was to kill off Kennett, not turn him into the main male character. When I did end up killing Ziggy (I think this was in the second or third draft), tears were streaming down my face because it was unexpected, despite being the right thing to do.
Now, I've slowly evolved to plotting and have even self-identified as a Planter in recent years. A core reason for this is the Plottr app.
It's a great source for jotting down notes, character descriptions, and reference material. Yes, all of this is also available with Scrivener, but Plottr is so much more visually appealing. Plus, it has the added bonus of being able to handle an entire series.
Now, the one thing I hadn't used too much until today is the Timeline and Outline features. Sure, I've outlined a book after I've written the first draft. But never before. The nice thing about this program is it comes with numerous templates (so, so many templates!). Plus you can easily build your own.
While I'd utilized the Notes section to jot down a rough idea of the plot of both ideas, today I sat down and actually plotted.
Needless to say, it's been a great weight off my shoulders. I've been able to silence the voices (for now), and looking forward to 2024, I'm feeling good. While I won't declare 2023 to be the most lucrative year in my writing venture, it is the year I've accepted that I'm doing this for myself. If I get discovered, great! But I realize that to do so, I need to put myself out there. But I digress . . .
My greatest fear has, temporarily, been silenced. I have a full project board going into the new year, and I'm excited to see what all these new characters bring to the table. Because, yes, while I can now identify as a Plotter, I know there will still be surprises lurking on each new page.
Cheers,
C.J.
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