NaNoWriMo2011 Day 5: My Storyboard
- At November 05, 2011
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, NaNoWriMo, Roxanne Writes On
- 6
I passed the 10,000 word mark earlier today, which means I’m well on track to completing the first draft of a 50K-word manuscript. I’m actually aiming for 70-75K, which is a typical length for a work of contemporary commercial fiction.
I’ve been studying plot and structure for the past few years, since that’s the toughest part of the craft for me. Jack Bickham’s Scene and Structure. Chris Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. Screenwriters Michael Hauge and Alexandra Sokoloff. Robin Perini’s Discovering Story Magic. Between these and many others, I’ve patched together a storyboard-and-index-card method that – SO FAR – seems to be working.
Hopefully, I’m not jinxing myself, here.
This is what my writing work-space looks like:
This big newsprint sheet is my “template” of where I need to have certain structural elements, and at what percentage of the story, according to the final word/page count I intend my book to be. It’s all very mathematical and smart. I like it a lot.
Then I lay out my index cards, one for each chapter. I want 20 chapters in total, allotted as follows: five in Act I, 10 in Act II, five in Act III.
The cards marked with red are for Act Climaxes. As I write the actual text, on my laptop, I make notes of the scenes on the appropriate index card. This helps me keep track of what happens when, and where, so that it’s easier to write my synopsis later. This also allows me to write scenes out of order, without getting completely messed up. You might notice that I’ve got a scene written in Chapter 7, even though I haven’t written Chapters 4, 5 or 6 yet.
Isn’t it kewl?
“She’s Alive!”
- At October 26, 2011
- By Roxanne Snopek
- In Life, Roxanne Writes On
- 2
It’s Wednesday, the third day after returning from the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, and I do feel somewhat like I’ve risen from the dead. (Or maybe it’s because my kids got me into watching Walking Dead. Which is awesome… and I don’t even LIKE zombies.)
But the past year for me has been something of a dead zone. Like various bits and pieces of my life have been stuck on “pause.” Like I’m living in that ominous time between the flash and boom that lets you know how close you are to the storm. (“Pause?” “Flash?” Duh. Try “menopause.”)
This conference, and the friends I meet up with there every year, brings me back to life. You know who you are – or maybe you don’t. Our interactions might be brief and maybe I met you this year for the first time, but you did something that helped me believe in myself again.
Pam Patchett, my eloquent and thoughtful friend – and fellow dog-lover – on the other side of the country, who is so generous with her hugs, and whom I never get to spend enough time with! Deb Andersonwho always has the coolest hair, and so much energy!
Sheri Hart who I only met last year but I feel like I’ve known for much longer, Nick Andreychuk who always inspires me with his productivity and cool ideas, the whole gang at the RWA Greater Vancouver Chapter…. and then, of course, the Big Name Authors…
… the Celebrities who inspire We’re-Not-Worthy Fan-girl moments … after which everyone settles down to have an ordinary conversation over butter chicken.
After all, wherever we are on the path of publication, we’re all writers struggling with the same stuff:
Butt in chair, hands on keyboard.
Sit down at the typewriter and open a vein.
Thank you, my friends, for reminding me that I’m not alone.