crispina kemp

Teddy insisted I remove the plug-in keyboard cos, he said, it’s not comfy to sit on

Such a vast subject. Let’s apply some structure.

The Basics: Equipment.

I like to sit at a desk and use a laptop and MS Word. But I don’t use the laptop keyboard. I have a plug-in which clatters most satisfactorily, reminiscent of the Brother typewriter I started my writing life on.

But I also keep a notebook and a supply of biros handy. Black. Fine point. These are for jotting down those numerous amendments as I realise they’re needed.

Also, I’ll sit comfy on the sofa and write copious notes on the story, where it’s going, what’s changing, is it working.

Then also there are notes from various levels of research. Research might include how to make gunpowder, the possible geography, climate, wildlife of my story’s location, and how to treat a Komodo dragon’s venomous bite.

I don’t have a komodo dragon but I do have a frog

Also, at this stage I try to compose a one-sentence pitch of what the story’s about:

Seed Fall – When the mind-controlling techs of a G.M. Programme on an alien planet are drowned, the tech-hating basecamp overseer must take on their role.

Note: This can/will change several times during the writing process.

The First Draft

Am I a plotter or a pantser? As with many writers, I’m a bit of both.

I spend an age working on the plot in my head. At some point I’ll start to make notes and later I’ll fit said notes into some kind of structure: three acts with the major plot points. I usually develop the story further from there and I’ll note the protagonist’s Character Arc.

But being an impatient soul, I seldom complete that plotting process. Chapters are not mapped out, nor are the scenes. At this stage if I’ve written an outline it’s soon abandoned. I flex my fingers, connect my head, and start on the tapping.

Ah, bliss. Satisfaction. And away the story runs with the characters doing what characters do.

Found this pic in my archives. Thought bubbles?

After a morning’s writing in like manner, I’m on the comfy sofa, notebook and pen in hand, trying to apply structure to the mess my characters have just made of my previously structured plot. This usually – always? – includes new twists and turns, an adjusted story arc, and maybe even a completely new and previously unimagined ending.

And so it goes.

Dust and Clean Up

Around about halfway through the story I’ll do a bit of a dust and clean up. As far as Seed Fall is concerned, so far this has been decapitalising words that should have been lowercase and feeding in some foreshadowing.

First Draft 2nd Half

By now I know where my story is going and how it’s going to get there. The ending might still be fuzzy and if anyone asks me about the theme I doubt I can answer. So far, on this story, I have a single word: Responsibility.

Found this in the archives and thought it looked kinda spacey

As I get to know the characters the dialogue might/will change, reflecting this. Character arcs can change, too. In fact, the completed First Draft might not resemble the story that floated around in my head at the start and kept me awake nights wanting to be written. That’s why on completion of the first draft there follows many revisions.

First Draft Seed Fall New Weekly Posting

All of which might go some way to easing your reading of the story which, as of next week, I shall be posting weekly.