Chapter Notes
In the past week, I've managed to assemble everything through Chapter 5 of Vitamin F. It's been an interesting challenge assembling everything from the piecemeal files I've already made. It's always a bit irritating, but I have occasional moments of clarity that bring everything back together, making it well worth the frustration.
My process is simple. I've already got a loose synopsis, labelling each plot point with the file the text can be found in. I just bring up the files, make sure they're the pieces I want, then make a new file with all the parts thrown in. A few hours later, I'll slowly read through the makeshift chapter, changing any bits of text as I go through. Inevitably, I'll come to some point that feels clunky as a transition from one section to another. A few sentences later, and I'm off running again.
The clunky transitions are the biggest problem at the end of a chapter. Sometimes, I'll have a new batch of files set aside to make the next chapter. When this is the case, I'll have to stop and focus for a few minutes on what I need to do. I've been lucky in that the pieces of text I come up with at these points don't have to be as smooth transitions, since each chapter usually has its own set of inner themes to deal with, something I don't carry over to the next chapter.
The end of Chapter 2 had a note telling me to write more on the scene. There might have been 100 words before the note, so it was very open-ended. I had already developed a conversation about majors between Bridgett and Penelope, which turned momentarily into information about their parents--Bridgett's were dead, Penelope's mother is a bitch. There, I lucked out again because the next chapter was the introduction of Oriane Panettiere, Penelope's mother. I didn't originally want to establish that until much later, but I knew it was better to imply the connection up front. It let's me avoid having to create any extra tension by letting the story between the lines express what's going on.
Speaking of Oriane, it's time I visited her contribution to the story again. I don't want to establish an every third Chapter pattern with her, but right now, I need to cut away from Bridgett and Penelope for a bit. Let them have some time to themselves without the writer butting in, screwing it all up.
My process is simple. I've already got a loose synopsis, labelling each plot point with the file the text can be found in. I just bring up the files, make sure they're the pieces I want, then make a new file with all the parts thrown in. A few hours later, I'll slowly read through the makeshift chapter, changing any bits of text as I go through. Inevitably, I'll come to some point that feels clunky as a transition from one section to another. A few sentences later, and I'm off running again.
The clunky transitions are the biggest problem at the end of a chapter. Sometimes, I'll have a new batch of files set aside to make the next chapter. When this is the case, I'll have to stop and focus for a few minutes on what I need to do. I've been lucky in that the pieces of text I come up with at these points don't have to be as smooth transitions, since each chapter usually has its own set of inner themes to deal with, something I don't carry over to the next chapter.
The end of Chapter 2 had a note telling me to write more on the scene. There might have been 100 words before the note, so it was very open-ended. I had already developed a conversation about majors between Bridgett and Penelope, which turned momentarily into information about their parents--Bridgett's were dead, Penelope's mother is a bitch. There, I lucked out again because the next chapter was the introduction of Oriane Panettiere, Penelope's mother. I didn't originally want to establish that until much later, but I knew it was better to imply the connection up front. It let's me avoid having to create any extra tension by letting the story between the lines express what's going on.
Speaking of Oriane, it's time I visited her contribution to the story again. I don't want to establish an every third Chapter pattern with her, but right now, I need to cut away from Bridgett and Penelope for a bit. Let them have some time to themselves without the writer butting in, screwing it all up.
Labels: Bridgett, Writing Progress
posted by LEN! at 5:07 AM
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