Melanie Nilles

I’ve started a new story, though I can envision a trilogy on this one. A sort of not too distant future on a paralllel world where heaven and hell collide. Urban fantasy meets epic fantasy. It’s fun, if not a bit spooky. (I can’t handle demons and monsters unless it has nothing to do with the real world, and they can still scare me. I’m a wuss; I hate horror.)

Anyway, I thought this would be great opportunity to explain the process of pre-writing. I’ve gone over the basic stages I take in writing. But what do I do in pre-writing?

Pre-writing is that first step, the planning stage, where everything coalesces in my mind. Characters are formed and molded with a plot, which is derived from personal motivations of the main character and outside forces (other characters, circumstances, environment, etc.) . There are holes, which is why I give myself at least a couple days of just thinking. I have to get at least the main details right for the story, or I’d have too many holes and the whole thing would crumble like a poorly built bridge as soon as a little weight, the writing process, was put on it. Not a good thing.

After a couple days, I’ll start making notes about characters. I may not have names and in this case didn’t right away. Those can come later. My main concern is to describe the characters as I see them initially. (These details can change once I start writing, but at least I have something to provide consistency.) I may not know the characters personally, but I have some idea of their backgrounds, physical characteristics, and personality quirks. I also figure out the setting; in this case, a city on another world much like ours but a bit more advanced technologically. If it’s good and I think it works, then I’ll go forward with any scenes that come to mind. The story came so clearly that I wrote a mini synopsis with the key events. I don’t include everything, since I need a lot of room for changes later. Maybe something else comes up that I didn’t foresee and the characters don’t do X at point D. Maybe X comes later. That’s where it’s important not to get too hung up in details, at least for me.

Then I need a good opening, something that shows the character and introduces the conflict of the story. It’s important that there be conflict and not background and worldbuilding without anything else. The world will come alive as your character interacts with it. Don’t describe it first. Ah, but the reader won’t understand?

THUNK! *cluebat* Doesn’t feel so good, does it? Well, that’s what you’re doing to your readers–knocking them over the skull with dull details. Don’t do it. Let them absorb as they go and figure things out. That’s the fun of reading.

So, jump in with something that puts your character in a difficult situation. It doesn’t have to be action or drama, but it should be something that makes a reader ask “What happens next?” Go on from there, and forget infodumping. Get rid of the clutter. I find that eventually, it all comes out anyway in a showing manner rather than the dull telling. And you don’t need to give away everything at the beginning.

So far, I’m up to chapter three and loving every moment. I know what the story is about and the character’s are sorting themselves out in my mind. Soon, I’ll have them mastered and their personalities will guide me without much effort.

I’m anxious to find out where it leads…