Refining the way I write...

I've had a whole hit and miss thing going on with my writing, recently.  Over the Easter long weekend, for example, I managed 15,000 words as I try to complete two works in progress.  (The second and third books of the Prince David series, if you have to know.)  But, at other times, I've become bogged down, and I struggle to turn out 1,000 words in a week. 

Of course, it doesn’t help that I have a demanding full time job, as well, so my writing time frequently becomes very limited.  But, a lot of the problem revolves around the fact that I’ve been also been slow to adapt to some important skills involved in writing.  As in, writing novels. 

It’s not that I can’t write, because I can.  It’s just that sometimes I get into the heart of my work-in-progress novel, and lose my way.  I find that I haven’t researched properly, or I need a name, or I lose track of what I really want out of this story line.  To help resolve this issue, I’ve started doing more outlining of my stories as I write.  However, I also realize that I need to do more of this.  Outlining, that is.  And, research.  Most importantly, I need to better outline and research before I really get going.  That way, as I get on a roll and as the words flow, I can really keep going and not have to stop for things that I should know already. 

So, having been thinking about this a bit, recently, I was quite pleasantly surprised and pleased to see a recent April 4th post by Amanda Hocking, on her blog, in which she tells of (some time ago) hearing Gary Paulsen (she thinks) describe the need to outline.  Amanda goes on to talk about what works for her, and I am certainly going to take notice of her advice.  So, now, with a big thank you to Amanda Hocking, I will redouble my efforts to plan and outline my works in progress, and let’s hope I can speed up my production a bit.  And, just for the record, here’s what I’ve got on the go, right now.

Happy Reading,

Wil