Welcome to my writing update for March.
It was a good month, especially since me and my partner took a much needed break from work. We picked the absolute best week, as the weather was extremely good. It almost seemed like summer.
When it came to the writing, I actually mostly thought a lot, trying to figure out the different subplots and how they fit into the story.
What I figured out?
I suck at plotting.
What I worked on this month
For my everlasting work in progress, I wanted to edit and write two scenes. I actually wrote two scenes, edited one, and came up with the subplots.
As I said in my progress for last month, the subplot is a great way to fill up the middle of your story, which is where I’m at. I’ve already figured out that one of the subplots was love.
What for the others? And how many subplots do you need?
It depends, of course. Your story doesn’t need a subplot. Especially not if it’s a shorter story, like a novella. But when you’ve got a long story, thinking about the subplot can help support your main story when done right.
The other subplot I have in my story is action. Some nice life-death stakes always spice things up, don’t you think?
And, finally, I also have a performance subplot. This is actually the external global genre of my story.
BTW: if this all sounds like mumbo-jumbo to you, check out my post on Genre here.
Figuring out the performance subplot was actually a huge gamechanger. Initially, I thought my subplot was domestic, but it just didn’t quite fit. Now that we’ve ruled that out and looked at performance instead, soooo many pieces are finally clicking together.
I just never thought of training her magical powers would be considered performance. But actually, why the heck not? It’s a skill, just as much as learning how to play the guitar or write.
But then my lovely editor asked me to put it all together and plan out the scenes from the beginning to the end. So it was a mix of what I’ve already written and what I would yet need to write, keeping in mind those subplots.
It was fine to do around the point where I’m at with the story, and I also know how I want the story to end, so those weren’t that difficult. But when it comes to the rest of the ending payoff… I ain’t got a clue.
It was very hard.
And when I look at what I have come up with, it’s not bad, but… it’s not great.
I do trust that by the time I get there, though, I will have figured it out. My subconscious is definitely still working on it (and likes to tell me so when I’m trying to sleep).
Other than that, I still haven’t outlined the new short story I’ve wanted to write since forever, so perhaps I’ll just abandon that idea for now. Keep my focus.
I did start analyzing a masterwork, just not Assassin’s Apprentice. I actually decided on The Hobbit. I love Tolkien, I love The Hobbit, so there’s definitely a lot to learn there, I reckon. I’ve also done some more research on emotion descriptions (though not as much as I would’ve liked).
My Goals for April
Pretty much the same as always. Writing two new scenes and editing two scenes for Ice Cold. I want to continue my analysis of the Hobbit (trying to get a go at it for at least an hour each week), and I’ll continue with the emotion description research (also aiming for an hour each week). I think that’s a nice division between writing and learning.
Helpful writing articles
As always, I have some writing articles I think are very helpful. Check them out below!
🍁 On my own website, I’ve added another hero’s journey archetype. This time, it’s all about the shadow!
🍁 No idea how to title your novel? (I know I still have no idea how to title my work in progress). Check out this article for tips!
🍁 As writers, we’re not necessarily business people. Still, it can’t hurt to have an author business plan. But what needs to be in it? Find out here.
🍁 Do you want to build a good belief system in your novel? Get some tips on how to go about it, and why it’s important to think about your belief system, in this article.
🍁 One of the most important things in stories, is character change. To read about their transformation. But how do you write convincing character change? Find tips about character change in this article.
🍁 Figuring out what your character wants and what they need can be challenging. But, it is important if you want to write a great story, to know your character’s goal. So, how do you find these things out? Read it here.
Tell me about your writing progress
That was it for my March writing update. Any project you’re working on? How’s your writing going? What are you struggling with, or what’s going really well?
Let me know in the comments!
