Initial Ity Bity Baby Steps

The Write 6 meet this week so we offer mini-entries on steps from idea to "ready to show the group" on our various projects.


From Robin
Original idea: 50/50 from “see a need” in the library and “learn something new on a trip.” My favorite, of course, is “have an assignment and deadline…”

Step 1: Go to coffee place, get a booth with a pad of yellow paper and a pen. Scribble very rough possibilities for a story frame. Lots of scratch outs and arrows until I can just barely see what I was thinking.



Step 2: Since I am working on quasi factual books now I research the settings, animals, weather, plants, etc, and build a glossary of fun new words. Even in real fiction I need to know if father geese actually stay near the nest during brooding.

Step 3: While I am on line play, some Chuzzle to rest my brain.

Step 4: Open 3 or 4 windows of story and research and flip around until there is a plot.

Step 5: Print out what I have a huddle over coffee again. More arrows, more notes, sometimes only the main character is salvaged.

Step 6: Go online and see if anyone else has written something like this recently because there is no reason to pursue it unless I get a really unique slant.

Step 7: Time for more brain rest with Chuzzle.

Step 8: Move paragraphs, tidy punctuation (only the really anal do it at this stage!), tweak.

Step 9: Oh, just send it! The Write 6 have been known to a plain wire hanger of a draft and encourage me to make a satin coated sachet filled story!