Tips & WIPs

My writing process has changed over the years. I started out as a serious plotter. I filled out the character worksheets, developed a detailed plot, broke down each scene in great detail… and it worked. For a while. Then life threw a few curveballs my way, and — whether because of the turmoil or despite it — my process changed. I became an organic writer, AKA: a pantser (someone who writes by the seat of her pants).

The pantser process has its benefits, but it also has a ton of potential pitfalls. While my characters often lead me in myriad wonderful directions I never anticipated, not knowing who these story people are until I start writing about them can lead to…

… well, to journal sex.

To what, you’re asking?

Yeah, you heard me. Journal sex.

Journal sex is what happens when the author knows she has to meet her editor’s quota of erotic content (moresex, moresex, moresex — check!), but has no clue how to add it in. But I digress. Let me go back to the beginning.

I recently started a new WIP. I sold the book on proposal, which meant I already knew where the story was going. At least in theory. What I hadn’t quite determined out was how I’d get there. No big deal, I figured. I’ve done this before. My characters will lead the way. With that firm belief in mind, I started to write.

After 2,500 words, I lifted my head from the word fog and found that my hero spent four pages shopping for a pen, and the rest of the time writing in his journal — with said pen, of course. If you’ve ever kept a journal, you know they’re perfect for venting, and pining, and wishing, and hoping… which is all this poor guy did. Only he did it in explicit, X-Rated detail.

And oh, boy, was it bad.

The problem (beyond the journal sex), was a distinct Lack Of Conflict. Yes, the concept is important enough that it deserves to be capitalized.

Instead of starting in the middle of things, I started much too early. A week too early, to be exact. Oh, things would eventually happen to this man, but they weren’t happening now.

There’s only one way to fix this kind of issue when you’re mired in a dull, pointless scene that’s going nowhere, and it’s not pretty, but it’s necessary. Scrap all the words, and start over. But before you do that, take a few minutes to figure out your scene. If you’re a pantser, rest easy — I won’t suggest you plot. What I advise is asking yourself a few questions:

• Who is the central character in his scene?
• What does he want?
• Why can’t he have it? (This is critical)
• Does he get it what he wants by the end of this scene? (There are only three possible answers to this question: “No.”, “No, and furthermore…”, “Yes, but…” Never let your character get what he wants without having his prize complicate matters even more, unless you’re about to tack THE END to the last sentence of that scene.)

Do that, and I promise you’ll never have to experience the agony of writing journal sex.

(image by: isazappy)