From Diane: When I posted (ad nauseum) about my outline process recently, friend and fellow author, Therese Fowler, piped in to say that she never outlines. I thought it would be fun to hear how Therese works so well without a net. I’ve read Souvenir–a poignant and beautifully crafted story–and look forward to reading Reunion. Having just ditched most of my outline now that my characters have taken over, I’m going to pay special attention to Therese’s process. Welcome, Therese!

From Therese:

Before I dig in to the topic of this post, I want to thank Diane for inviting me to guest-blog here at her place in concert with the publication of my second novel, Reunion, which went on sale this week!  My first, Souvenir, came out last year and is now out in trade paperback.  It’s been a treat to see it shelved literally around the corner of Target’s Breakout Books display rack from Diane’s Book Club pick The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes.

Compared to Diane, I’m pretty wet behind the ears, so it’s really interesting to get her perspective on things.  During a recent episode of “shop talk,” I mentioned how impressed I am with Diane’s extensive pre-writing process.  She’s described it for you here–the detailed, lengthy synopses that demand so much of her time and energy.  It amazes me that she can work out an entire story ahead of time, because my method is pretty much exactly the opposite!

I write mainstream/women’s fiction, which means I don’t have a prescribed word count and I’m not following a genre “formula.”  When I start a new novel, I’m working from little more than the parameters of the sorts of stories I like to write: a combination of elements that includes family drama, a love story or romantic sub-plot, the examination of a moral/ethical issue and a question of what’s right in a given situation.  My last proposal, which was the basis of my current two-book contract, was  a page-and-a-half long.  My proposal for Reunion was about the same.  Considering that my manuscripts come in at +/- 100,000 words, let me tell you, it’s a tall order to make sure I get all those words in a comprehensive order and delivered to my editor on time.

So why don’t I outline, and how do I write those 100k words in the correct order and on time?  Good questions!  I sometimes wonder the same things myself!

I always begin a new work with two things: a situation, and a primary character or two.  Just by thinking it through and journaling a bit, I discover a general starting point and ending point of the story.  With Souvenir, I knew I was crafting a tragic but ultimately redemptive love story–but the nature of the tragedy and how it played out were details that emerged only after I’d begun.  In short: I had to write the story to find it.  This, then, is probably why I can’t outline a story.  I don’t know my characters well enough at the beginning to be able to say what they’ll do–and what they’ll do is what creates the plot.  It’s only after I’ve written fifty or eighty pages that I begin to see the way my subconscious is creating connections.  From there, I can further refine my characters, and when I do that, I can see what they might do next, given the situation I’ve established for them. 

For me, crafting a story is, in essence, the process of creating and recognizing a series of diminishing possibilities that lead to an inevitable conclusion.  However, using this method means that I have to be three things: 1) a good self-editor, 2) willing to start over as often as necessary until I find the right opening [which I do, sometimes discarding 50-100 pages], and 3) an efficient, fast writer.  Fortunately, I seem to be all of those things, which I think is the answer to how I can work this way and also produce a book each year.  Honestly, I’ve always been this kind of writer.  In college, my essays and term papers were written seemingly off-the-cuff (and usually right before they were due)–and yet I still managed to graduate with a 4.0 GPA.  It’s not because I’m brilliant; rather, it’s because I know what works for me and I’ve learned how to make the most of it.

I think it’s so cool that although we go about it differently, Diane and I both create multi-layered, suspenseful (and, very importantly, publishable) stories, proving that disparate approaches can and do have successful outcomes.  Any of you who are aspiring authors, take note!  There is no one right way to craft a novel (nor is there one right kind of novel to craft).  The important thing is to discover what works for you.

Hmm…for that matter, the same is true about relationships, occupations–and my personal favorite, popcorn toppings!  (Browned butter, sea salt, and grated parm, thanks very much.)

I know I’ll never be an outliner, which means that each time I sign a contract, both my publisher and I will be making a leap of faith.  Considering how quiet and solitary the writing life tends to be, this brings a bit of mostly welcome suspense and excitement to my life! 

However I go about it, my goal is to always provide readers with a full, engrossing, compelling, satisfying read, and I invite you to get in touch with me after you’ve read my books and let me know how well I’m doing my job.  You, the readers, are the ultimate judges.

My thanks again to Diane for having me here, and warmest wishes to all of you!

-Therese

ch. 2 Rebecca 2009  Overhears rumor, realizes must flee, sees Brent before leaving, lies to him

I’ve finished the first draft of these two chapters and it totals seventeen pages–seventeen pages during which my creativity had very free reign. By page eleven, for example, Rebellious Rebecca (my new nickname for her) had already altered part of my story in a major way. You see, I thought a particular character had died of cancer, but she actually died in an overturned bus. Much, much better! Thanks, Rebecca! My outline shows me where I want to go; it’s my characters who create the maze to lead me there.

So you don’t need to be afraid of outlining. Neither do you need to be afraid that you’re doing something wrong if you don’t outline. You may be more comfortable being a “panster”–one of those writers who is more productive flying by the seat of her pants. Time and experience will give you that answer. Until then, the most important thing is to keep writing.

I’m sitting cramped in a corner of the library at the First Colony Inn in Nags Head, where all the photographers at John’s workshop are buzzing around me, working on their images. We’ve already checked out of our room, thus the reason I’m in the library. Not sure how much more work I’ll be able to get done before we have to take off, because any minute they’ll be starting the slideshow of some of the images people took during the workshop, and I know I’ll want to watch. I didn’t finish the synopsis, but I made excellent progress and hope I can finish it tomorrow because Tuesday I’ll be working at a campaign office all day (election day) so I don’t sit home, chewing my nails down to my knuckles.  

Here’s what I accomplished yesterday and this morning: I outlined the story by weaving together the four Point-of-View characters’ actions that I wrote up the day before. In scenes in which more than one character appears, I decided who had the most emotional investment in the interaction and determined that that person will have the POV in that scene. I’m about two thirds of the way through, and it gets harder as I move toward the climax and all the complex elements of the story come together. As I work on this, I have to keep going back to my character sketches to remind myself of the characters’ various strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, this will be second nature, but I’m still just getting to know them. I also came up with a working title, which I’ll keep to myself for the moment.

So that’s it! Looks like I have a few minutes before the slideshow starts, so I’m going to squeeze in a little work. See you from home tomorrow!