Please welcome guest Katharine Britton, author of three novels: Her Sister’s Shadow, Little Island, and Vanishing Time (2016). Katharine has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from Dartmouth College. Her screenplay, Goodbye Don’t Mean Gone, on which Vanishing Time was based, was a Moondance Film Festival winner and a finalist in the New England Women in Film and Television contest.
When not at her desk, Katharine can be found feeding baby birds at a local wild bird rehabilitation center, or in her Norwich garden waging a non-toxic war against the slugs, snails, deer, woodchucks, chipmunks, moles, voles, and beetles with whom she shares her yard. Katharine’s defense consists mainly of hand wringing after-the-fact.
Connect with Katharine on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and see a book trailer for Her Sister’s Shadow and Vanishing Point on youtube.
On the Road to a Rough Draft: If You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, Any Road Will Do
I love road trips. This is partly because air travel is such a chore, but also because I enjoy the planning process. I always know where I’m starting, of course, and where I’m going to end. Then I pour over maps, measure distances, and look for interesting stopping points to determine the best route. Being directionally challenged, I’m a big fan of Google Maps. I approach rough drafts the same way.
Pre-planning
Some writers proudly claim to have no idea where their story will end until they get there. Directionless but undaunted, they write a first line, and then a second, trusting their characters to get them to the finish line. I stand in awe. As when I travel, I require both a beginning image and a final image for my stories. My characters get some say in the route we take to get there, and I’m flexible about who gets to come along on the journey, but the adage, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will do” holds altogether too much uncertainty for me.
Each manuscript starts with a motivation: some purpose for this virtual (and rather long) journey. It could be an image that moved me, a tale recounted by a friend, a scene witnessed, a question I want answered. Then I muse. I don’t know if I have a muse, but I definitely am a “muser.” On long walks I imagine the story around that image, scene, quotation or question. This is both freeing and terrifically anxiety producing. Freeing because nothing is committed to paper. The story is as ephemeral as the weather. Anxiety producing because nothing is committed to paper: What if I forget all those pivotal plot points and all that riveting dialogue before I get back from my walk?
If I’m being generous with myself, I think of these efforts as pre-planning. When I’m not, it feels a lot like procrastination. Either way, it’s an essential part of my process. Once I’ve satisfied my inner muser, I start planning.
Planning
For many writers, planning involves creating an outline. I am genetically incapable of creating one. Try as I might to organize them, those letters and numbers scatter themselves down the page collecting random entries. I favor mind mapping. I’m a lover of white boards, a lover of colored markers, a lover of chaos. Mind mapping allows me to see connections between characters, their goals, and issues. I also draw timelines, which allow me to see the evolution of action, the possibilities, impossibilities, gaps, and overlaps. Timelines and mind maps calm me down because they offer me a chance to download data from my brain. Using white board allows me to make changes with the swipe of eraser. I find all this noodling and doodling critical because it taps into a different part of my brain than the one that gets fired up when I enter the linear, black and white world of text.
Meanwhile, I’m filling a spiral notebook with character notes, descriptions of locations, snippets of dialogue, transferred mind maps, chronologies, floor plans, and elevations. I ask myself questions. “What if” is my favorite: my left-brain querying my right. I scribe some scenes in longhand, mostly illegible, but I enjoy the sensation and the process. Once I get to the drafting phase I switch to computer mode.
I’m also by now filling out index cards. Colored, of course. I jot down scene headings, make notes, and record character data for easy access. (Was her birthday in March or May?) I like to shuffle through these cards, line them up on my dining room table or living room floor, and put them in a file box or secure them with a rubber band at the end of the day.
Many writers happily use writing programs such as Scrivener. Scrivener offers virtual binders and index cards and provides outline templates, as well as a myriad of other functions. Not being a digital native, I prefer the tactile, kinesthetic world of markers, pens, notebooks, index cards, and white boards. And, when I finish a project, sifting back through those notebooks and index cards has the sentimental impact of looking at baby pictures: How features have changed! How musings have matured!
Having completed my procrastination—just kidding—planning phase, I begin my journey and write what I call my “data dump”: the rough draft.
Find True North
A little planning always makes the journey more effective and enjoyable. But… planning is generative and one potential pitfall is that planning can stir up too many connections and possibilities. (While those detours and side-trips are compelling, if you want to get where you’re headed, you must be judicious.) Staying focused on the nucleus of the story, that initial motivation or inspiration—what I call a tale’s “true north”—keeps me on track.
Problem solving lies at the heart of novel writing. Pre-planning and planning elevate problems that the author then gets to solve. While these activities can, at times, feel like procrastination, I think it’s the kind of procrastination that allows the brain to tell the heart to wait when it wants to commit to a relationship or a job that doesn’t feel quite right.
But that’s me. I’m always curious about how other writers work.
What’s your process? Physical index cards or virtual? Outlines or mind maps? Computer, typewriter, or pen and pad? Any good road trip anecdotes? Inquiring minds want to know.
this was great – thanks for sharing – i write much like you. can never make the best use of a screen or a keyboard when planning. good to know i am not alone
Thanks, Lavinia. Always good to hear from a fellow pen-and-paper planner. I really love the meandering mess of those early, pre-draft months.
I have never taken a writing course. I just put my head down looking at the keyboard and type away with two fingers. My mind takes me down the road. There are curves in the road and bridges to cross but I keep plowing ahead until I come to the end of the road, then I revise what I have written. Private Payne
Wonderful post, Katherine. I, too, love to hear about other people’s processes. Mine has evolved over the years into something that very much resembles yours. I love index cards and sticky notes and walls covered with diagrams. As a lover of maps (never had a GPS), your imagery of a road trip spoke to me. I did several cross-county journeys focused on the four-corners area, where I set myself free to explore. But I was looking for a specific magic in those red rocks, which made all the difference as to what I discovered. For me, the key to mapping out the bones of a story is a combination of ‘what if?”, the freedom to throw spaghetti at the wall, and an idea of where the North star is in the sky…not necessarily in that order, though!
Susan, Yes to sticky notes! I use them on my white board.
I have an author friend who wrote out scenes and then clothes-pinned them to a string stretched across his office. I’ll admit I haven’t tried that yet, but I’m a visual learner and it holds a certain appeal.
I’ve finished my first draft writing off of an outline in my head. Now as I begin revisions I find I can’t make changes because I can’t remember the fine details of characters actions, dialogue and settings. I find myself jumping all over the manuscript looking for details to make sure I don’t mess up. I wish as I went I made a detailed outline to use as an index. I’m just getting into Scrivener so maybe the outline there will help me. Thanks for your post.
Michael, I’d be sunk without my notes: I cannot recall dates, names of secondary characters, locations… Outlines work very well for many writers. Just not this one.
Good luck with Scrivener. I have a friend who swears by it.
True north. Exactly. If only there were a compass!
There is, it’s called our hearts yet hearts can be shy. I’m in the earliest stage of a new project and it’s like that. My compass needle is swinging around, for now afraid to point strongly and steadily in one direction.
It will, in time. When ready. It can’t help itself. The tug of truth north is stronger than the shy compass.
Benjamin, I agree: the planning phase is precisely for getting one’s bearings. Charging off in a direction too early can necessitate some serious back-tracking. Best to drift a while.
I am a wing man. Generally, there is some question or some thing that catches my attention, that makes me say “that would make a great story.” But I rarely know where it ends or much about it. As I write, I start to see the possibilities of where the story could go, and then where it should go. It’s a little scary, but it seems to be how I work most effectively.
Jeffo, My hat’s off to you. I know many fine writers who head off on a wing and a prayer with great success.
I can’t outline; it drives me bonkers. But, as a mystery writer, I pretty much have to know who dies/who the victim is, and who the killer/culprit is, the why and the how when I sit down to write. I can’t just meander off and hope that I have a story with proper clues planted, a couple of great twists and a satisfactory ending. I’ll snowflake out a drawing real quick on a sheet of paper with my victim(s) at the center, the suspects all around and I’ll show any links they have to each other.
Once my snowflake is done, I create a template by scraping the prose out of a re-saved file of the most recent book and then entering in my thoughts on what happens, chapter by chapter. That gives me a very rough first draft that I can add to, take away from and switch around. That might end up being only 2000 words, it might be 10000 but I can scan down through all of that and look for any plot holes, missing connections and any places where the story is weak or moves too slow and fix those things. When that’s done, it’s a matter of setting the scene, adding dialog and description.
Anne, Love the snowflake image. I’m definitely going to use that.
Thank you for the great post!
I love the right brain and left brain talking to each other and working together to create the story. Also, the process of ‘moving’: of using a whiteboard and index cards and colors as a way to feel through the story. I think it’s wonderful.
“Problem solving lies at the heart of novel writing. Pre-planning and planning elevate problems that the author then gets to solve.”
This is a super important lesson I had to ‘practice’ over and over in order to really overcome my fears of telling a story. I have a natural tendency to simplify problems when they come up as opposed to digging deeply and elevating the problems to create a richer story both externally, and to the internal core/authentic growth of my characters.
Such a great post. Thanks again!
Thanks, Chris! Glad you enjoyed the post, because I had a lot of fun writing it. I, too, find it hard to remember that “only trouble is interesting.” (Janet Burroway) I am constantly wanting to rescue my characters instead of letting them drift into ever deeper water and have to struggle a bit to get to safety.
Katherine,
For me, the pivotal initial work is finding the North Star and testing its heart and placement in the cosmos over many, many months. Because my themes as a human and a writer tend to generate unwritten stories, my “walks” involve two books–the one I’m writing that has already been shaped and structured on which I’m working details, and the one that comes next. Your refreshing post about planning before drafting involves the next one.
For months for relief from the one I’m working on at the desk, I shepherd the muse toward to the North Star of the next one and gradually characters, conflicts and connections form constellations. As for holding details, I always travel with a little book in which to write them–voice, dialogue, plot. Some of the structure is held in my head but before I settle to write a word the beginning and ending are quite clear and the characters are old friends.
Before too long in that first draft, out come the index cards or some file on computer to detail the twists that the characters discover. This feels like being a rug wholesaler purchasing products to bring home. A number are invariably are sold at a loss. Contemplating the next book in the pipeline lightens the importance of those little failures.
Yes, Tom, my notebook is always at the ready. And what a delightful mess it is, filled with mostly illegible entries from airports, meetings, restaurants, my back porch…
I am always please when I write down an idea or observation, even though I can’t always recall, when I re-read it days, weeks, or months later, what it refers to or why I wrote it.
Every so often I’ll scour an old journal and come up with a real gem!
Comforting to know that you also cover your table with notes and ideas, create vision boards and like me, probably enjoy the tactile experience of picking up a notecard with some amazing sentence, idea or image that you haven’t used yet–the jewel in the stack. Thanks, Beth
Beth, I’m with you 100%! My office is strictly off-limits when we have guests over: it looks like it’s been ransacked.
While I love making the mess, I also enjoy the process of corralling the random bits of paper into a notebook, the notes on my white board into a file on the computer, and the index cards into a file box. Every step of the process brings me closer to the story.
I know my characters and major plot points in advance: my beginning, middle and conclusion. But I would never surrender the thrill of writing my story and watching it unfold in ways I never imagined by coloring inside of the lines.
My two recent novels held me captive. I had no preconceived plans for some unexpected character deaths or that writing the third act would fascinate me as much as it did my readers.
I do keep pens, paper, voice recorders and a recording app on my smart phone handy as ideas are born in the craziest times and places. It’s not that I would forget the concept, but the beautiful way it flows from my mind would be lost without my notes.
And yes – while true North is critical to my writing, I am reminded that not all those who wander are lost.
Well said, Beth! “… not all those who wander are lost.” Inspirations are the heart and soul of writing. Who knows where they spring from? I wrote a blog post on this subject a while back. Here’s the link if you’re interested: https://www.writerspace.com/inspiration-in-content-structure-if-you-want-acorns-look-under-an-oak-tree/
One of the best parts of being a writer is reading that final draft and thinking back to the story we thought we were going to tell.
Hi Katherine
I love your mind mapping and index card ideas, they sound fun. I might have to give it a go next time I need to procrastinate, I mean, plan.
I usually do a very loose outline. I jot down the goal for each chapter and then figure out how to get there by putting pen to paper (literally).
Once I have a ‘dirty draft’ I transcribe it onto the computer for endless editing.
I also search through google images for people that look vaguely like my characters and print them out. I find that really helpful when it comes to describing them.
Thanks for sharing your process.
MA
“Dirty draft.” Ha! I love that. (I call them data dumps.)
I, too, like to find visuals of my characters. I spotted one at an ox pull at a town fair. Isn’t it amazing where our writing takes us?
Honestly, the “endless editing” is my favorite part. I wish I could go straight from planning to editing. I hate writing that “dirty draft.”
Always interesting to read about other authors’ processes! I like to outline. Like you, though, I do a lot of mind mapping first. I also use a spiral notebook to “write around” characters and ideas (basically, freewriting) and notes about scenes. I love the virtual index cards in Scrivener, so I no longer use the real ones. I do sometimes use post-its when I’m trying to work out sequences.
Barbara,
Thanks for your comment. One of these days I’m going to explore Scrivener, and I’ll probably kick myself for waiting so long.
Katherine,
I’m a newby at figuring out a novel…but one of my current and largest obstacles is figuring out the end. I have a scene with following short story that will be in the middle of the novel and I have an opening scene…but as much as I muse I don’t know the ending…Any insights? I want the novel to be the first in a trilogy…
Katherine – you and I must have been separated at birth. Glad to know I’m not the only one whose process might look a little messy on the outside but makes perfect sense to me! Thanks for a great post.
LRB
LRB, Ha, ha! Great to hear from a fellow (messy) planner. Best wishes, Katharine
” I always know where I’m starting, of course, and where I’m going to end.”
Katherine, your process is somewhat similar to that of Joyce Carol Oates who said in an interview : ““I always have the end written. As I’m touching base with the ending every day, I’m wondering how I can eventually get there. Yes. I write the end, or the last sentence, first. Even if I don’t physically write it down, I always at least know how the story ends.”
Even if we have the end in mind, why don’t we go a step further and physically write the last sentence first? What have we got to lose except suffer a slight dent to our writer’s ego?
Kumera, Thanks for your comment. Also thanks for writing my name and Joyce Carol Oates’s in the same sentence! Katharine