Actually, it’s and outline of Zombie Love.

Today shortly after noon I finished sketching out (one simple sentence per scene, if you’ll recall) the entire book, scene by scene. By 4:30 I had 4,200 words of detailed outline of scenes. I anticipate about a 10,000 word outline when I’m done, nothing but high points of dialog and stage directions. I found two more glaring lacks in plot while I was sketching, and one more while outlining.

This…appears to be a good way to remove the ugly bumps in the road before I have to drive over them. Wow.

***

Today Shannon & I spent with Dorothy (again) at the Saturday market, where Dorothy has a booth. I wandered in and out, spending much time sitting various places and typing on Neo. Lovely day, and Dorothy fed us pasta (mmmmmm) as a thank you. Yay Dorothy!

I had more to say, largely pointless nothings about an octogenarian with a brilliant red and blue Mohawk and so forth, but I’m sleepy. Night night.

Zombie Love I am approaching differently than anything I’ve ever written.

I’m planning it first.

My theory is that this will prevent those cases of needing to back up three chapters because this direction just isn’t working, or getting 30k words in and not knowing what happens next. This should kill that.

My method at this time, just so it is chronicled (and thereby, in theory, repeatable) is:

Free write what I know about each character until I KNOW about each character. Do this until I am out of characters
Write out in simple sentences each major part of the book. In this case, five simple sentences.
Start writing the sequence of events, one “then” clause per scene. Like this: X happens, then Y happens, then….
For each “then clause, write the sequence of events in that scene. Simple sentences only, poor grammar. Skip a line when I find a chapter break.

The result is that, in short order and with little effort, I have a roughly blocked novel about halfway outlined. I am astonished. I’ve found three places so far that would have had me irritated with my beginning (and rewriting it) or going back and reordering events or changing things or adding chapters.

Huh. Planning. Who’d'uh thought.

And isn’t that just generally the feel you all get from me, in any case? I like to think that I spend a major fraction of my life waiting in excitement and dread for what my mouth might inflict on an unsuspecting universe.

My next novel-first-draft is working-titled “Zombie Love”. Think of it as a romance with elements of the paranormal. And voodoo. I’ve all the characters sketched out nicely, I understand all of the major features in the landscape of the plot, have nicely groomed it to fit the first five steps of the Hero’s Journey (go to Wikipedia and look up Monomyth; I’m too lazy to link tonight.), and have outlined the first quarter of the book in significant detail, like, down to scene and dialog level. It turns out that I have another character sketch to do; a sauce pan is a major character.

Nanowrimo is nigh upon us. I think Zombie Love must have been destined for November. I seem to be ready to write it just as November is ready to be here.

…

*sips beer*

… …

I think I’ll wear my pirate shirt and thigh-high boots to work on Wednesday.

–no matter how many times it begins.

Here I am, back. I have moved, I live in a lovely apartment in Hillsboro, two blocks from seven coffee shops, I have a job that I hope to keep for decades (Kirby, you were SO right), and all is well while getting even weller.

Tonight, sitting quietly with my sweetie, I poked online and saw the email from Chris Baty. Shannon looked at me and, smiling, asked what I was going to write.

And I calmly told her. I’ve an outline for a novel I’ve been working out for two months, that I’ve known I was about to start first-drafting. I’ll use that, and draft it in November.

I am writing NaNoWriMo again. I am clearly insane.

Bang.

So. Missed you all, really, really missed blathering here. So glad to be back.