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Ahhhh, ACT ONE of a new novel. It's one of the hardest yet most enjoyable parts of the novel writing experience.
Why? Well, I think it's obvious why it's one of the hardest. Because well--you have to start. From nothing. That blank page stares at you, judging you, whispering all sorts of doubts and ugly words into your ear. Telling you it's not worth it. You'll only fail. What you have to say is stupid. And yet, it's one of the most enjoyable too because--it's the beginning. Things are fresh. Ideas are new. You can have as many brilliant plot points as you can conceive--and you don't have to tie them up yet. It's like skipping through a field, picking daisies and not worrying yet about trimming, watering, and caring for those flowers. At the moment, I'm nearing the end of ACT ONE. It's getting serious. I've introduced my main characters; highlighted my hero's dilemma; created an inciting incident; and am close to writing the opposing argument. Then? It's ACT TWO. *Wets pants* I'm TERRIFIED of ACT TWO. Yes, the beginning of the novel is hard; because of the doubts that waft in and out. Because of the blank page. But ACT TWO? You have to make. Things. Happen. You have to carry your plot points convincingly forward; you have to build your character arc; lead your readers along as authentically as possible; dive deeper into your hero's desires and wants. *Takes deep breath* Thankfully, I have another week until ACT TWO is upon me. For now, I'll delight in wistful ACT ONE. Picking daisies and not caring a thing about what's to come. What about you? What's your ACT ONE journey like??
2 Comments
5/24/2016 02:57:58 pm
This is a great one Robin! Start is definitely the most difficult (we all know about the pressure to write the most compelling start ugh!) but consistency is also very important and if second and next parts don't match the previous ones... well, we all know what that means. Sometimes it's very difficult for me to make connections between some parts, I got those parts planned but I don't know how to connect them. How about you? What do you do when your ideas dry up? I wish you a good day Robin!
Robin
5/26/2016 11:01:46 am
Ahhhh, I so understand this! I've been going through this awesome book The 90 Day Novel by Allan Watt, which has taught me to hold my story loosely -- meaning, we don't have to have everything figured out even as we're writing it. So when those plot points that we planned don't go exactly as we thought, that's OK! Keep writing. If we hold our story loosely, new and exciting plots might spring up that we hadn't planned on. It seems odd. And counter intuitive, especially since I'm a "I need to plan everything out right from the beginning" person; but the amount of times that I've said, "I have no idea what I'm going to do here" and then just sat back and wrote. Letting the characters do whatever they wanted; it's pretty amazing what has come from it. A stronger story, that's for sure. Leave a Reply. |
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