What was I waiting for?

First, a contest Reminder: Check my sidebar –> for links to two bloggers giving away copies of my novel!

I’m not a NaNoWriMo sort of writer. And yet, I am a “pantser.” I don’t write true first drafts. I need a certain level of reassurance I’m on the right track before I can head out of the station. And yet, I love uncovering the story as if it were an ancient artifact at an archaeological dig.

For months now, I’ve been taking down notes, sometimes nearly full scenes, in preparation to write my next novel. I know how it begins, how it ends, and some bits in-between, but I’ve been waiting for something more.

I thought I was waiting for my main character’s voice to grow stronger. Maybe I needed to know her better before I could write her. But I already know her, I created her three years ago. She’s been talking to me for a while now.

I considered doing a real outline, the kind I’ve heard other writers talk about. Some novelists, maybe you, plan in such detail before they start writing that they know every scene and exactly which chapter it will happen in. My oddly disorganized organized brain rebels against all that, but I thought maybe this time I needed to do it differently.

Then I remembered that I set off writing The Brevity of Roses with only a need to explore the story idea. I had a general idea how it would end—I was wrong. I thought I knew who the main character was—wrong again. I loved the adventure of discovery, and it turned out all right.

So, I kept taking notes and writing out bits of dialogue that came to me. I opened the file and stared at the opening paragraphs for a while before closing the file unchanged. Finally, it hit me; the problem was structure. I ran it by my critique partners and we decided my original plan was needlessly complicated. After I made a new decision on how to narrate the story, everything clicked into place. I’m writing again, and it feels wonderful.

Your turn: What do you need to know before you can start writing?

[tweetmeme source=”cassidylewis” only_single=false]