Writing Update: The Beginnings... (2)

It’s been a few weeks and I’m back with a report on my progress. My only goal since I last wrote was to create proposals for the ideas that I have floating around in my head, so I chose two and wrote one-page sort of synopses for both. Nothing crazy or detailed at all, but enough to where I finally put my ideas on paper. This is, sadly, more progress than I have probably made in a year or two, which is so pathetic that I can’t believe I’m publicly admitting it. I want to be a writer, some day, and yet I prioritize literally everything else ahead of it.

I honestly have no idea what one to choose- that’s the biggest problem right now. They are both topics that I connect easily to and stories I would like to read. Both play around with format a bit (one more than the other) and present their own challenges. I think one of my biggest hang-ups is that I don’t know how either of them is going to end, which feels a little, I don’t know… unstable? It’s like going for a drive and having no destination. Some people thrive off of this sense of adventure, but I’m just not that kind of girl. I need an end goal, along with a way to get there.

Interestingly, it doesn’t bother me in the slightest that I feel such a need to be regimented in creating a plan. If you want something huge like this to work it can't be forced from a place that isn't natural to the person doing the work. I have been to dozens of author events over the years and there is such a wide variety of writing. Some know every twist and turn and minor character before the actual prose writing begins, while others opt for a more organic, flexible route and just jump right in. The idea that there are so many ways to go about this task is simultaneously reassuring and daunting.

So, that’s where I’ll start, after choosing one. I’ll work on the path, aka the outline. While doing this I’ll set up major plot points, start creating characters, and figure out that gosh darned ending. Since the holidays are approaching I have to maintain realistic expectations, which means that I am hoping to have an outline done by the end of Christmas break, which is the first week of January. I’ll still post on my progress sometimes the first week of every month, though, just for accountability purposes.