Every so often I'll receive a writing question from a reader who believes I actually know something about all of this. I like posting their questions and my answers, mostly because if one person has the question there is a chance others might too.

Long time no talk; sounds like everything's heating up with your new project - congrats on that. Sorry that Song of the Fell Hammer didn't work out, or more accurately, didn't work out yet. I still think there's a place in the genre for that manuscript. Anyhoo - I've been working on a couple different projects recently - one's an urban fantasy I'm co-authoring with a guy in Oklahoma, the other's a "thriller" type of piece that is intended to be a short story. So, I'm finding that things are a mess - particularly, I've got word documents spread out everywhere (okay, not everywhere, but you get my point). So I was wandering if you did anything specific to keep your projects "tidy". I mean, do you keep your outlines in a separate document, and then each chapter in their own document, or do you write in one large document, or do you use a project management tool or something like that? Or is everything done with good old pen and paper? Just curious. I'm trying to be proactive - I don't want to waste time "looking" for a plot point that I've already written out when I could be writing. Hope you had a great Christmas and an even better New Year.

My response:

When I started writing, I knew I wanted to develop my stories like Terry does. He is fairly organized and I'm OCD enough to need a certain level of organization. After Fell Hammer, I learned a lot about what worked for me and how I would use that experience to help the next book.

But here's something to keep in mind: What works for me might not work for you and vice versa.

When it comes to research and tidiness, I keep everything in one .doc file. The file for The Dagda King starts with the five or six most important characters, who they are, why they are, their histories, their futures. This part grew over time as I was developing the characters in my head. The next section in the file is what back story is necessary. That part also grew as I was researching and developing. Then I put in a quick time line for the past so I keep my dates straight. Below that is the creatures I would be playing with and their ties to our world's history and the scenes I see them in. There are a couple of other sections like important locations, quotes, bits of dialogue, etc. Only then did I start the outline and it is 27 chapters. All of that is in one file and is about 21 pages, single spaced.

The outline has Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, etc. All the way to 27. Each chapter paragraph highlights what is important about the chapter that moves the story forward.

I have a file on my Desktop titled THE DAGDA KING. Inside that folder, I have another folder called BUSINESS. That .doc file with the outline gets put in the BUSINESS folder. Later, my query letters, synopses, maps, completed manuscript (in .pdf and .doc) and other business elements will be included in it.

Outside of that folder, in THE DAGDA KING folder, are my individual chapter files (ie. 00.doc, 01.doc, etc.) This is how Terry sets it up and it works well for me. Greg Keyes, however, writes his books in one long .doc file. This is how Robert Newcomb does it as well. So it all depends on the writer. I find it easier to write a book if I break it up into manageable parts and that's why I do it. Later, I'll place all of those files into one.

Then as I write, I revisit that initial 21 page .doc file, reading over what I wrote earlier in hopes of not losing anything.

I hope that answers your questions. Getting a handle on the beginning part of the story is fairly important as it will help you avoid missing subplots and what not. Good luck!

Labels: Craft