Comments on: The Book You Thought You Were Going to Write

By: Susan Adrian

Susan Adrian — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 20:52:02 +0000

Thanks for saying this out loud! I’m finishing the first draft of my fourth book, and was getting frustrated again that it’s not what I thought it would be. But you’re right–it really is part of the process.*

*Not an outliner in any way, shape, or form.

By: we are ugly, but we have the music » scribbling damselfly » deborahkalin.com

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:09:32 +0000

[...] talks about the book in her head vs the book she wrote, which post came as a bit of an epiphany for me. When I first started trying to write novels that [...]

By: Summer

Summer — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:04:11 +0000

Yes! This is so much like me. I mean I DO outline my stories vaguely but things just always fall together perfectly for me. Is it like what I first imagined? No, but like you said, that’s okay.

By: Carrie

Carrie — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:40:46 +0000

This is so me and my process! You’ve really put it beautifully! Except for me I still have that moment of panic when the bright shiny idea starts to morph on the page (and usually that panic is encouraged by upcoming deadlines). Sometimes it’s hard to let the story go where it wants to.

By: Helen Landalf

Helen Landalf — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:54:39 +0000

Great post. I can totally identify! I find it so interesting that you also call your first draft your “zero draft.” I started doing that when I realized that I needed an entire draft that might have actually nothing in common with the finished novel.

By: rockinlibrarian

rockinlibrarian — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:39:00 +0000

Timely: I just got a new book idea, and the Inner Critic is already needling me that it Won’t Turn Out Like You Think It Will. Apparently this is the only argument the Inner Critic HAS about this idea, which should be a good sign, but it’s still hard to get it to shut up.

I saw your next post, too– NaNoWriMo is exactly something that would be good for me (and my way too talkative inner critic), but November is a horrible month for me having other stuff to do!

By: Stephanie Leary

Stephanie Leary — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 03:27:41 +0000

I think that explains why I freeze up before finishing my novels: panic that it’s not what I’d planned. Must work on not panicking.

By: Deb Lund

Deb Lund — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:43:32 +0000

Thanks for the validation. We all play with our own process, and it’s such a gift to hear someone else say what I’m thinking. For me, the discovery is the joy. I always say that writing is like reading in slow motion. Especially those “Choose Your Own Adventure” books kids would fight over when I was a librarian.

What a great post to find just before NaNoWriMo tomorrow! It’s my first year to participate, and though it’s scary, I’m going to step back from myself and be my own student–right down to the little prompts on cards I made for young writers (and am sharing with FB/Twitter pals). Good thing I have all that teaching background to fall back on, especially the teacher voice to put myself back on track. But “quieting the critic” is what I’ll be anxious to practice over and over again. Letting go is a skill I could work on forever and still need more time.

By: Karen Healey

Karen Healey — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:17:13 +0000

My way of plotting is that I tend to have an idea of the beginning, and an idea of the end, and I aim at the second from the first. Both of these are subject to change, and I typically don’t work out the character arcs until the second (or third) (or fourth) drafts.

By: Tara

Tara — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:43:13 +0000

I’m working on an outline for a novel for National Novel Writing Month and it seems that I go into outlining thinking that I know what I exactly want to happen or how I want my characters to act and then once I get going, things just seem to get a life of their own and surprise me. I guess the story just wants to be told the way it wants to be told!

By: tegan

tegan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 04:06:00 +0000

hey justine.

I have no idea how you write such good books. I get writers block like evry five seconds. It sucks.

I was just wondering what a manuscript looks like. I have never had a book published and I don’t want to look like an ameteur to the publisher.

By: Julia Rios

Julia Rios — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:49:29 +0000

It doesn’t seem to matter if I outline or not. Until I have written the first draft, I really have no idea what the story is about. In the second draft I have a better idea, but basically I have a make a big mess and then try to sort it out approach that happens no matter how organized I try to be in the beginning. This means a lot of revisions.

By: Tamara

Tamara — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 18:24:01 +0000

That’s a very cool reason for not outlining. If I don’t outline, my novels wander forever. But I love how an outline leaves lots of room for flexibility.

By: Bianca

Bianca — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:32:50 +0000

Not being able to write it the way I imagine my ideas is one of the main reasons I’m not able to finish anything. I write down the way I imagine it but I can’t really go anywhere with it. It frustrates me so I just leave the story in my head and it just floats around, never really going anywhere. Still working on getting past that barrier.