Writing scenes ahead of time…Seeing the future!

Have you ever worked on a story, then all of a sudden you have an idea for something that will happen several chapters ahead? As I’ve said before, I always know the ending of my stories. Although sometimes it changes slightly, but it stays in the same ballpark.

I’ve written several scenes ahead on my current WIP Safe. And it’s helping with the current writing because I know where I’m headed. And it follows along nicely with my outline because it’s more or less just a more detailed version. Since this is a mystery suspense type book, I’ve written who the bad guys are and what their part will be in the mystery. That way I can continue to make the suspicions grow and also keep the mystery in check. I don’t want to give away everything all at once.

I keep a notebook of notes beside me as I write. And a trusty red pen to mark out the scenes that have been written. This keeps me on track and the suspense building. I can’t have my bad guy getting off on a technicality from my writing too far ahead.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

The scene that makes you cry…

Good morning! It’s a soggy, cool morning here in Georgia. Sending prayers for all of those affected by the ice storm. Please stay safe!

Now, have you written a scene that makes you cry? I’ve written so many scenes that brought tears to my eyes. And I’ve had readers that said some scenes in my books made them cry. It’s always a compliment when a reader says I made them cry. There’s a difference in the writer crying and the reader doing the same thing. What? How?

This is my opinion on this matter. If I cry, it could be where I’ve been so dedicated to the WIP that I’m overwhelmed with emotion. Or If I’m killing off a character that I love, my heart is broken. But when a reader cries, that means that I did what I was supposed to do. I wrote with feeling and the reader understood it.

So, write that emotion with everything you have!

There’s a scene in Faith Through the Tears that makes me cry like a baby. I’m talking big, fat tears. One reader even mentions to have a tissue box ready.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Writing scenes ahead…

Good morning from icy Georgia! It’s below freezing and the precipitation falling isn’t rain… Time for the bulky sweaters that collect dust, but I keep them for just this sort of day…

Now, on to the post. Have you ever wrote a scene ahead of time? I keep a notebook beside my laptop for just this thing. And I label them as what they are. About 90% of the time I know in my head how the book ends and if I’m working on the first half and hit a snag, I’ll write the ending. It inspires me to push through the fog that clouds my thoughts sometimes.

But, will those scenes change and evolve as the writing prior to them does. Certainly, but it keeps you focused on the upcoming events. I’ve written several pages of scenes, then totally deleted some of them as the characters went in another direction. But it’s exciting to step ahead and see the future.

Did I say I could see the future? Yes, in my writing I can. So don’t ask me to read tea leaves or anything like that. I can’t see that kind of future. So, start looking ahead in your WIP and see what can be. It will help with the current part of the process.

As always, good writing and <ay God Bless You…

5 steps to The Clear Picture…

Have you ever looked at your work in progress and seen this? For many writers this is where the lines blur and you want to hit your head on something because you can’t seem to clear them up. This is a common problem for writers, but there’s help, really, this too can be pushed aside.

Lately I’ve been working really hard on a surprise manuscript, but also on Chase. Of course that means that the two stories can get blurred together at times. In order to get from one manuscript to the other I have to clear my head. It’s the only way or I’ll have to make sure I don’t get my characters mixed up.

Here are a couple of steps I take to clear the picture:

1: Step away! When the blurs take over, then take a moment to step away. Sometimes I have to go for a walk or maybe even do housework, but I have to step away from the manuscript to get it cleared up.

2: When the lines blur, pick up a book. Amazingly enough this can help clear up the blurred lines. Read something to get your mind occupied.

3: If your current manuscript becomes overwhelming, try working on another one for a couple of hours. Recently I stepped away from a manuscript for several days and it helped. When I went back to it everything seemed clear.

4: What about those scenes that you just can’t seem to get right? Try moving forward with the manuscript and then go back to the glitchy scene. Believe me, sometimes this works really well. Once I did this and realized the reason the scene wouldn’t get straight was because it didn’t need to be there to begin with.

5: For the final way to clear the picture, well, this one can be tricky, no not really. Go grab some caffeine. If hot tea is your thing, then grab that, or maybe a coffee. It stimulates your thought process.

Hope that this helps you. This is just a couple of things that I do when I get stumped.

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Writing in Sections

As a writer I’m constantly trying new ways to organize me thoughts for books. Some days my mind is riddled with different scenes and it’s hard to concentrate on just one part. So I’m trying a new way to do things that I’ve read other authors do.

Since my mind seems to want to go ahead of itself, I’m letting it. When I start a book now I also start another word document that I name Segments of “book name”. In this document I write the scenes that are later down the road, that way I don’t lose the thought process and also it helps with the current parts. I know where they’re headed and can keep everything flowing in the right direction.

I’ve noticed that my mind seems less tangled when I do this process. I guess getting the parts that are screaming at me on paper helps the words flow better without obstacles. Try this process out and see how it works for you. But don’t forget to label each section so that you can copy and paste it in when your writing gets to that point. It really helps!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…