Janet, surprisingly, stated that plotting isn't her favorite thing to do. She says that she listens " . . . to some cheesy disco music to get my energy up. Then I sit down with a yellow pad and a big bag of chips. I think about a crime and why it would occur. What were the bad guys thinking? What did they want? How did they do it? Why did they get caught? How did the capture go down? I see it as a movie. Then I write out my little time line of action."
Janet also likened plotting to Red Riding Hood. "Red is the good guy and the wold is the bad guy." Then the plot takes off from there - Little Red off to granny's. Wolf beats here there and locks up granny. Dresses in granny's nightgown - the crisis point. A pizza deliver guy happens along and saves Red. The End.
Funny stuff, but so true on plot development.
Yes I agree with you truly on that. It's not her favorite thing to do, or maybe us either but still it gets done. Honestly speaking a lot of the times in writing I just start out and don't think about how it will end. When writing it seems like a mental thing to me as the pen glides across the pagper or type away on the keyboard, all thoughts come into play about how whatever it is i'm writing is going to work.
ReplyDeleteIf you have read any of Evanovich's Stephanie Plum books, you can recognize her sense of humor even in the way she gives advice about writing. Funny, yet very illuminating stuff.
ReplyDeleteEvanovich makes writing sound like fun. I like that. So many of the other authors emphasize the work, work, work aspect. They make writing sound like noble drudgery. I'm with Janet. Open a bag of chips and enjoy letting your mind roll!
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