Writing is hard. Any writer will tell you that. We intentionally make it harder (also known as ‘challenging’) on ourselves to see what we’re really made of. I did that with Spirit Hackers in the ways of creating a full outline and structure before writing. I also ditched MS Word and Apple’s Pages for a still relatively-unknown app called Scrivener. With Loopback, I’ve done it again by working on a plot involving time travel. This is a subject that can get you in trouble easily if you don’t dot your T’s and cross your I’s.
The odds of hitting a paradox are high and plot-holes aren’t just issues that can be patched. They can completely derail the entire book. Add in the fact that I’m inventing technology as I go and this is a perfect storm of screwing up that I’m trying to avoid.
I’ve taken organization to the next level and created a dedicated document in my Scrivener binder for all technology I’m inventing and also the time travel rules I’m laying down. By having a reference that’s never more than a click away (and if I jump into split-screen view, it’s not even that!) I can keep my head on straight when referencing something down the line in chapter 20 that I invented in chapter 2. So far, it’s working great for me.
Finally, my word count is progressing with Loopback clocking in at 13,754 words. My current goal is to write about 3k a week to keep my original promise of having this book done by the middle of the year.
So what keeps you organized with your writing? How do you challenge yourself in new projects? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Time travel is a sticky hornets’ nest when it comes to keeping all the wrinkles out of the plot. But, it can be done and done well. I wrote a short story that has an indirect connection to time travel. (Basically a person can see the future through numbers that appear on foreheads) I had to brainstorm the story with my husband to iron out all wrinkles.
Right now I am under a pile of pages and I am not sure how to do my editing for my current WIP. There are a lot of scenes I want to take out, many I want to rearrange, and some that I need to add and I am worried the story will somehow get lost in the shuffle. It is much easier to edit a short story, but a novel length book is like untangling the Christmas lights. OY!
Good luck with your WIP!
Your idea about seeing the future sounds pretty cool. You Christmas lights analogy is a perfect way to describe it! I gotta steal that for next time. 😉 I completely agree that a shorter work is easier to edit but I think we all have a system that works for our own brand of dysfunction. Good luck to you and your WIP also!! Thanks for visiting.
Great job on the word count, Aaron! I don’t envy you trying to keep track of everything in your fictional world, but you can’t beat Scrivener for making it easy. Good luck with the 3K/week!
Much appreciated Gwen! Organization is the key to getting this done with my sanity intact.