Hopelessly Lost

 As most of you know, I'm a plotter who works from a sketchy outline when I compose my manuscripts. None of this writing out of sequence stuff or coming up with a plot twist willy-nilly for me. I like to know where I'm going and how to get there. Some surprises might show up along the way, or the plot line might alter a bit during the writing phase, but I usually have a good idea of the how the story will progress before I start. 

Not so, this time around. 

I wrote the outline and sent it to my writing buddy, who shot it down, starting with the first graph. There were still parts of it that were good, so I took her critique to heart and began again, ironing out the problems. I got the first part of it written, and then looked at my outline again to see where the path was to go from here. 

It was like I was reading a totally different story. Nothing about the manuscript matched any of the outline, except for the name of the hero and the fact he began the story wearing an eye patch as a disguise. 

So, I've spent the last week splashing around in the pool on a floatie, staring at the ceiling and trying out various scenarios in my head. Usually, this works and I come away from my physical therapy sessions with hips that don't ache and a solid idea for the next scene. This past week, though, all I've come away with are good hips. 

How do I get my H/H out of the south with a runaway slave and a belligerent horse? How do they get to participate in hanky-panky while hiding said runaway? What mode of transportation will work? Will the hero give up in disgust and ride off into the sunset on the belligerent horse without a backward glance? 

I'll keep staring at the ceiling until the answers emerge. Or maybe I'll break down and write a new outline. That would definitely make life easier. 

Have Some Pie

In my youth, my older sister and I were responsible for preparing the family dinners. She usually did the main cooking and I made the desserts. I enjoyed baking, but my skills, as a ten-year-old, were pretty basic. I made cookies and tapioca pudding, that type of baking.

So, I realized I needed help when my writing and my story lines took me to pioneer baking. I'm working on two manuscripts simultaneously, and both of them involved baking pies, of which I know nothing. It was time to call in the big guns. One of my writing buddies is a pie-maker extraordinaire. She shows off her pie-making capabilities on her Facebook page, and I drool over them. Unfortunately, she lives on the other side of the continent, so I've not been able to taste any of her creations, but when I needed some assistance in my fictional pie-baking, she was there for me.

Together, we created a strawberry pie for my hero to enjoy while the heroine was convincing him to let her stay on the farm and help out. After all, the way to a man's heart, and all that...

Hopefully, the hero will realize the heroine is more than a pretty pie. Thank you, Micah, for all the help.

Starting Over?

I put the finishing touches on my second book in my Regency series with a few questions in my own mind, which were confirmed by my agent. I didn't like the fact I had painted my hero as an alcoholic, even though I've had a lot of experience with such men and seen more than one give up the bottle when a good woman enters the picture.

I also didn't like that I made him a fugitive from justice, and had to stay in England against his wishes. That was too much the same plot point as I had in the first book in this series. To say I finished it while in the midst of chaos is an understatement. So when my agent bounced it back to me with the request for a total rewrite, I didn't object, but didn't know which way to turn.

Should I rewrite it, pulling out the problematic parts and put the puzzle pieces back together, knowing they won't all fit? Or should I toss out all those words which I pounded out over several chaotic months, rethink the whole idea and start over? Should I go back to square one and think about the seven basic plot points?

Number One. The Back Story haunts the central character.
Number Two. The Catalyst gets the character moving. It’s part of the story’s setup.
Number Three. The Big Event changes the character’s life.  
Number Four. The Midpoint is the point of no return or a moment of deep motivation.
Number Five. The Crisis is the low point, or an event that forces the key decision that leads to your story’s end.
Number Six. The Climax or Showdown is the final face-off between your central character and the opposition.
Number Seven. The Realization occurs when your character and/or the audience sees that the character has changed or has realized something.

Right now, the only thing I like about this book is the blue and green tartan my hero proudly wears.

I'll let you know which way I go with this. But regardless of which way the wind blows, it will blow a blue and green tartan plaid.