There are two types of writers.
Plotters - those who think out every inch of their story and sometimes write a detailed ten page summary before they even start writing.
And Pantsters - those who start with a vague outline of a story and see where it takes them.
If you’ve been with me for awhile, you know that I am definitely the latter. I am organized when I have to be, but my students tease me about two things on a regular basis - My messy desk and my plethora of open tabs. These are symbolic of the way my mind works.
I’ve tried to be a plotter. I really have. Especially when I start a book and get stuck in the murky middle and have to change things six or seven times. I once got so stuck in the middle of a book that it had to change to an entirely new book and I had to restart the story I was trying to write all over again. This can be quite time consuming, but as much as I try, I just can’t be a plotter. Once, I even hired someone to take my ideas and plot them out so I could write faster, but I couldn’t even stick to that plot line. I am just a pantster through and through. So I’ve come to embrace it, and sometimes really cool things happen.
In A Past Forgiven, I had written a character out of the story, but he kept appearing on my pages. After the third time of trying to remove him, I just decided to adjust the story and I think it ended up even better. This week, I had it happen again.
Each week in my Creative Writing class, we spend one day just writing. This is good for the kids to brain dump and also allows me to just write for an hour. Some weeks that’s all I get. This week, I didn’t know exactly what I was going to write. I knew there were some scenes that I needed to put in the book, but again I hadn’t plotted everything out, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to introduce the Suffragettes I planned to put in the story. I also knew I needed an additional scene with a woman getting a dress (this will make more sense when you read the book) and so I started writing. Suddenly, this woman came to life in my mind. I knew she needed to be wealthy, but I wasn’t sure who she could be married to who would be wealthy. My first thought was the banker, but I’d already written him as single to create a different conflict. However, as I wrote, I realized having him married to this woman would add more conflict. It would give her a reason to introduce the Suffragettes and also a reason to dislike my main character.
So, I gave her a name and began to picture her. This isn’t exactly the way I picture Henrietta Thompson, but it’s pretty close. Thank you Canva.
So now the story is cooking away, and I can’t wait for you guys to read it. My hope is to have it done by the end of June as school ends June 6th for me and I’ll have lots of free time. If you would like to pre-order the book, it’s An Enchanted Love - the 4th book in the Sage Creek Saga. It’s a historical romance and it’s available on all retailers and my website.
In other news, we open Fiddler on the Roof this Friday night. I’ve been recovering from a cold, so my voice isn’t quite where I want it, but I’m hoping a few more days will help. They’re long days, but this play has been so much fun.
This is me in most of my costume. And here’s a few more pics. I’ll try to get some good ones at the show.
I’ve got to call it a night for tonight, but I’ll share some book recommendations on Thursday and more about the play this weekend. Before I go though, I’d love some prayers for healing - both for my voice and for a friend of mine who’s suffering from an unknown medical condition. There is strength in prayer so I’m hoping you’ll join me.
Until Thursday!
God Bless, Lorana