by Gail Oust
Plotting would top my list of favorite things about the
writing process. When I’m about to start
a new book, a sense of excitement begins to bubble and brew deep inside
me. Some experts insist there are only
seven basic plots—overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, voyage and
return, comedy, tragedy, and rebirth.
Others believe there are nine plots, and yet another is convinced there
are twenty. The experts, however, agree
that all books and stories are simply variations of a major premise. It’s my belief that every book, regardless of
the genre, starts with the same two words:
What if…? For example, my
heroine goes jogging. What if…? She discovers a dead body under an azalea
bush? What if…my heroine receives a
frantic call from her ex-mother-in-law?
The possibilities are endless, limited only by my imaginations.
Character development would come next. Do any of you remember playing with paper
dolls as a young girl? That’s the mind
set I use when introducing a character.
I have a vague image of him or her in my brain, then I mentally try and
discard different personas until the right one clicks into place. I consider physical appearance, personality,
background, and values. On occasion I’ve
modeled characters loosely based on people I know, those I’ve observed, or even
various actors. “Loosely” being the key
word. For me, characters simply refuse
to come to life without an appropriate moniker.
I sometimes refer to the baby name data base on the socialsecurity.gov
website. I peruse the obituaries in our
local weekly newspaper for unusual names or nicknames. Friends have also volunteered unique names of
former teachers or acquaintances.
Coming in at number three would be seeing the artwork for
the cover for the very first time. Usually
my editor emails the initial sketch done by the publisher’s art department and
asks for my comments. Before opening her
attachment, I take a deep breath and cross my fingers. It never fails to give me a rush at realizing
that page upon page of manuscript is well on its way to becoming an actual
book.
Hitting the SEND button is also high on my list of favorite
things. I always feel a tremendous surge
of relief and sense of accomplishment when I send in a completed
manuscript. I have a love/hate
relationship with the word “deadline.”
It’s an albatross around my neck, a storm cloud over my head, a nudge between
my shoulder blades, but, I confess, without a deadline I’d never complete a
book. I’m a dyed in the wool procrastinator,
pure and simple. It’s all too easy for
me to spend time on FaceBook, surfing the net, or checking the weather app. A deadline forces me to focus, to be
self-disciplined and to make a strict writing schedule and stick to it. My reward?
Hitting the SEND button on or before “D” day.
My final fave probably comes as no surprise. It’s holding my book in my hands for the first
time. It’s like holding your longed-for
first child, that first precious grandbaby.
An intense sense of pride and joy washes over me that’s hard to
describe. It’s been that way since day
one. May that feeling never change.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
