by Chloe-Anne Ross

 

Other than uploading on time (sorry!) my biggest problem continues to be planning my novels. I plan on writing a series and right now I only have act 1 of W.OT.G worked out but even still I plan on re-working my plan.

My idea for the opening scene didn’t go so well and I knew I had to change the landscape she was climbing, the beasts she was running from and the compass she carried with her and just her entire word! No biggie : -/  hmm…right?

I’m a nightmare when it comes to writing because of how god awful I am at planning, it’s not uncommon for me that I have to scrap ideas or change most of it. I’ll end up writing a new novel than I set out to write and that’s ultimately a good thing here because my imagination gets a free-for-all.  I know how hard it can be to turn around and march back up to step 1 so here are  2 signs that you should and 3 tips for when you do!

 

Go Back!!

  1. You need your notes– This is actually what helped me realise I needed to start again. I needed to review my scene and draw out what I had written. If I can’t see it in my own head after reading what I’ve written and weeks of planning, how the heck is someone else supposed to?

2. It’s just a scene– While writing this scene and when I originally went back to change a few things, even though I was enjoying writing it, it didn’t seem important…even when Hope was risking her life. I didn’t particularly care, it was just something to write. Even I wasn’t enthralled with this story

 

Going Back!

  1. Start fresh– Go back to square one expecting to get a new novel from the ashes of the old one. The sheer mass amount of problems that old book gave you, well screw them you could be working on far better things and creating a far better idea. So don’t be so reluctant to go back and start again!

2. Look back and look forward– flesh out your idea to see that you’re not going to get stuck again, see where the beginning of your book came from in their world and know where they’re going. For goodness sake don’t follow my example and get trapped in an endless cycle of plot planning, whatever you do!

3. Write about their world and note all of the important moments in their life-If you want to be sure you have everything figured out and know to make the scenes visible through text, then write about the world on its own! Spending a few days going through your settings and writing about each one can really help you. You should also keep note of where the characters are in their life and how they’re constantly changing, so I’d recommend investing in a few post-it notes (as if you don’t have too many notebooks already).

So hopefully all my rambling was helpful to you.

Have fun writing!

 

 

 

Guest post contributed by Chloe-Anne Ross. Chloe-Anne is a student in Glasgow, a recovering coffee addict with a good imagination.