Judith Copek Interviewed on Dames of Dialog

Here is the link: Judy's Interview

Readers and often writers profess a fascination with "the writing life."  Every writer is different, but there are certain procedures many of us follow. 

Plotting for example.  Did you know there are pantsers and plotters?  Pantsers write by the seat of their pants with no outline and often not knowing where their story is heading.  Plotters, on the other hand, have an (often) detailed outline of the story before they sit down to write.    Of course many of them stray from the outline, just as some pantsers will decide to jot down on outline in the middle of their story.

By outline, we don't mean I, A, i, a etc., although one could do that.  A writer's outline could be story notes, a narrative, a spreadsheet, even stickies in sequence. 

I usually know the beginning, the ending and some key scenes in  the story, then I string them together and come up with many more scenes.  As I write, I can see a bit further into the details of the future, and as I write, I get to know my characters.  Every writer does it differently. 

Set in Boston's High Tech World and at The Burning Man Festival

Festival Madness was published after the interview was already complete.

Set on the Island of Ruegen

Completing a manuscript

So. . . . on Saturday around 4:30 p.m., about a month or maybe even a year late, I finished the first draft of my new manuscript, tentatively titled, In Flight, and  very tentatively, because while I was writing the book another book with that title was published.  So it goes.

Weeks ago my writing group said the thrilling conclusion was weak, which meant the main character had to get herself out of her predicament  by herself, and the only way she could do that (that I could see) was to shootl the bad guy.  Which she did.  Of course he was coming after her with a knife, yada, yada.  But that one act changed the whole tenor and feel of the story.  Which meant:

I had to create yet a third point of view to do a much darker ending

Rewrite a bunch of scenes from that point of view
Retrofit everything
Then write the ending

I was busier  than a one-armed paper hanger and I kind of felt like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.  Aren't old sayings fun?

Anyway, I persevered, and now the manuscript is ready for rewriting.  Writing is rewriting.   I have exceeded any reasonable word count and I need to cut and pare like crazy.   Started in on that last night, one day after finishing.  Found a bunch of useless words and they will soon be gone.  I usually know the beginning and ending of the book and maybe a few scenes in the middle.   Actually, with this book I winged it because the character came and sat on my shoulder and began to tell me her story.  Then she stopped, and I had to figure out the rest of it.  I only knew what she told me.  How weird is that?

So the ending was half-sad, half-happy.  There is still much work to be done. And my published novel won't be available  on Kindle for Christmas, nope that ball was dropped.   Oh well.  

Tomorrow I'll bake something and go for a walk, and post the recipe for those yummy apricot bars I've been bragging about.  There's always food to savor.  And words to pare.  What will I think of now when I awaken in the middle of the night?  For two years I been figuring out the plot.  Now?  Maybe plot points for the next book.  Become a plotter instead of a pantser (seat of the pants).   How do you like them apples?

Grapeshot