Monday 6th September 2021
I have to be honest and say that despite it being the start of another incredibly busy week, I had fun today. I managed to get a 40 minute video out, conduct a 2 hour livestream on character and still get 4000 words written.
Prompted by The First Draft, I’ve introduced a little productivity hack for myself.
I hate going into a writing session not knowing what I need to write. Often, I’ll have a clear plan for the next 2 or 3 scenes, have a good day and then find myself staring at a blank page come next session, unsure of what I should be writing now.
I have my plot and outline so I know that, in The Accursed, we’re heading to the two teams meeting up. I know there will be a fight. But what I don’t know is the precise series of scenes I need to get there. This story changes viewpoints a lot. I’m sure this first draft has entire scenes that can be removed because I wrote a scene from the wrong POV. Or had a procession of scenes where I cycled through the POVs.
I find things go well when I have a clear idea for the next two scenes ahead. If I can be two scenes ahead of myself it gives me a little time to mentally prepare. Because I did that yesterday, I wrote a scene that seemed to jump off the page today.
Likewise, I don’t want to write myself into a corner with The First Draft. I’m doing things to counter that. I have numerous worlds, and the possibility for more. I have 5 protagonists simply so I have the option to change viewpoint if needed. And so, I also want to be two scenes ahead of myself.
The way I’m doing this is via scene headings in Scrivener. The Accursed originally had chapters. Now I have probably a hundred or more scenes (and counting) each around 1000 words long.
The First Draft will have chapters, or at least that’s what I’m calling them. Because it’s a serial, I have no issue with 1000 word chapters. And the plan is to write it in Scrivener with the next 2 scenes (or chapters) planned out.
It’s little more than a single sentence description, but I think it’s really going to help me going forwards. All it’s doing is formalising something I find I need to do anyway.
Tomorrow I begin The First Draft so there are a few nerves about taking on such a project. Will the engagement be there as it has been for the planning? Do I have the capabilites as a writer to do a good enough first draft?
I guess we’ll find out. But if I remember to always have the next two scenes mapped out, I may actually be able to pull this off?
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