Hi everyone,

I completed 50k for NaNo last November and am currently trying to finish the first draft. There are 3 story strands, and during NaNo the first two poured out, largely effortlessly. They were very character-led. I'm happy with them (for a first draft).

The 3rd story strand was more problematic during NaNo and I'm now having to change it as well as expand it to make it work. It's a sci-fi strand of the story and has to be plot driven rather than character-driven, since it needs to make sense of a certain situation on which the whole premise of the book balances (all 3 strands).

I'm struggling with this 3rd strand. I think it's cos I have to make certain things happen, rather than letting my fingers lead the story wherever they want. Because of this it's coming out quite mechanically and is not very interesting - too dull.

Any advice on how to bring life to a storyline that needs to achieve certain things, when it's not happening naturally?

TIA,

Deb

Just get it down, I think, no matter how mechanical it seems at first. As you write, I think that you will begin to see how you can make it more interesting. And once you have it written through you can identify where it falls flat, and where it is working for you. Then, hopefully, you can go back and bring the flat bits up to match the good bits!

Other than that, I don't really know what to suggest!

This is good advice from a pro. If you write every day and you do it for a living you just have to get it down and hope that somewhere along the line the story will take off. Going through this at the moment myself - writing very mechanically but telling myself it'll be all right in the end.

Debbie

why not approach it from a different angle? Try writing the synopsis - of the finished book. Try ans "see" where you'll end up. Nothing too detailed, just a game plan. I did this recently for the Cornerstones Synopsis Masterclass and it forced me to concentrate on the story I wanted to tell. In fact it's still not too late to join in - entries by 27th Jan.

Just a thought

Avis x

Thanks Roger and Jem for the practical 'get it down and tart it up later' advice. That's very helpful, and probably what I'll do.

Avis, thanks also for your other idea, which is also useful. I know what needs to happen, but maybe if I wrote down the basic steps I would see more easily what I could add to spice it up.

I will try a mixture of your ideas and see what happens... thanks muchly folks!

Deb x

You know what 'has' to happen, and it sounds as if you know and like your characters and their character led threads. Why not write it in terms of their reactions to and coping mechanisms for what 'must' happen. If you concentrate on character reactions rather than plotty events, it may come out more natural, as it will meld more with the character driven action.

Good luck. You're way further down the line with it already than if you hadn't done Nano, so this is a nice problem to be solving, in a way.

I agree - go with mechanical. You will be able to perk it up later, and I be you find that if you do let yourself go with this thread, it comes alive in the end. Even if it doesn't, you'll be in a better position to know what it needs once you've reached the end of it. And I also bet that, when you look back in a year or two's time, you won't actually be able to tell the difference between the bits which wrote themselves, and the bits which were like pulling teeth to write. And another reader certainly wont.

Emma

Repeat after me. A shitty first draft is meant to be just that, shitty.
Worry not about quality. Get the thing written.
When you go back, you may be surprised by how good some of it is.
And you can breathe in life where needed.

I often think that the first draft of those who don't plot in detail, probably looks a lot like a very detailed outline, in that it will be mechanical and concentrate on who goes where, with who etc.

HB x

How's it goin' Deb?

Avis

Thank you everyone - I will reply later to specific comments.

As for how it's going, Avis... I really really need to visit Culham Science Centre, because it's pivotal to my plot and I keep dreaming about it. I think I need to go there physically. Or maybe that's just procrastination, but I don't think so...

Deb