A few weeks ago I got word from Kregel that they were interested in my proposal for a sequel. Obviously I was elated. Then the realization hit that I’d need to churn out tens of thousands of words, fully develop a plot I’d outlined and mesh new characters with old in the storyline, well, that came with a bit of nervous anxiety. Because on top of that, I’ve got a full time job, some freelance work, a family of two kids a wife and a beagle, along with other commitments. So the next few months are going to be busy, but a good busy.
I’ve already made progress on the sequel, and I figured I would share the process (without revealing the plot of course) for anyone interested in the nuts and bolts of writing a novel.
After crafting a general synopsis for the proposal (a 3-page story summary) I went to work on the outline. For Hero’s Tribute, I had a Point A and a Point B and just figured the dots would eventually connect. However, I knew I couldn’t do that for the sequel – now I have a deadline. Plus once I finished writing Hero’s Tribute and went through the editing process I gained a greater understanding of how a story develops, and how it can change.
But I needed a framework. A starting point is chapter one. With a framework I’m talking more like the lines and string a construction company uses when they are laying out their housing plans. Then comes the concrete or wood, then the house starts to take shape, etc.
I’ve seen it done a number of different ways. Some folks use index cards for each chapter. Others an Excel file. For me I found that a one- or two-sentence description of each chapter, fitted into a three-column page, was the most helpful. I took each point of my synopsis and typed it into this outline (about 8-pt font size to fit everything). Once the synopsis was in the outline, I began to add more chapters. After the first walk-through, I could immediately see any lulls … that is, where the story slows, where a twist needs to happen, to keep the reader wanting more. Those are almost impossible to spot for me without an outline like this.
Once I was satisfied with the outline, I started chapter one.
That was a little while ago. I’m a good 30,000 words into the first draft. My goal is to have the first draft completed in the spring, revised in the summer and sent to the publisher in the fall.
That’s the plan.
