When my cousin eulogized my uncle at his funeral last summer, she told us that one of his favorite sayings was: “Plan the work and work the plan.”
That little nugget has been rattling around in my brain ever since. For the most part, I do not do an outline or a written plan; I tend to push forward, getting the thoughts down onto the paper. But on those days when I am staring at the blank computer screen with no idea of what I am going to write next or when I am overwhelmed by all that has to be written to the point of paralysis, my uncle’s words ring loud and clear in my head.
When I have moments of inertia, I stop, step away from the computer and deal with the unknowing and the volume by creating a plan. Boiled down to its basics, it is a list of what I want to accomplish for just that day with my writing and more specifically, what I need to do to get it done.
For instance, my list might include working on a few posts for this blog as well as working on a few chapters of my novel. For the blog posts, I will list the tentative titles and then I will write the points that I feel are pertinent that I need to include. For my chapters, I would write bullet points of what I want to accomplish in each chapter: how I want it to start and end, what will be revealed, how the story will be moved forward and any action. I might even add some key words for each scene or a scrap of dialogue.
It seems like a lot but it is a pared-down version of what needs to be done. It is almost like a blueprint that can serve as a jumping off point on those days when you find yourself stuck. Quite accidentally, I discovered that by creating a list with only one sentence describing each scene in each chapter gives me a great bird’s eye view of the flow and if I need to rearrange scenes.
Then I glue my bum to the chair and go down the list, ticking things off as I complete them. And there is a sense of accomplishment with things crossed off the list.
Michele Brouder
Michele Brouder, originally from Buffalo, NY, now resides in Ireland. She has been published in Writer's Forum UK and Chat: it's Fate. She writes the blog NOVELISTA, which covers books and writing. She's currently seeking an agent for her YA paranormal novel.
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