Phase II

Finally finished going through the parts I'd already written and on to phase II of the planning stage.  That would be answering the questions I asked myself about each part of the novel.  I make something like a worksheet for this.  I included a quick summary of the scene/chapter/section and pinpoint problems with it, things to avoid when writing it, and of course I ask myself questions.  Like "How does she feel about ______?" and "How does she react to _______?" and "Why doesn't he ask her about _______?"  This helps me to figure out what I need to accomplish in the scene.

The worksheet looks like this:

and is about thirty pages long.  (I don't half-ass anything when it comes to the novels.)


Before I attempt this, however, I've got a scene I probably need to get down before I forget it. I'm not even sure if I'll use it in the finished product, but that's why I need to write it.  If it looks like it'll work it'll go in.  If it looks like it'll suck or drag the story, it will be unceremoniously flushed.

It's a brutal business.