Natasha Fondren

I see the light at the end of the tunnel! My current WIP had a mess at the end, where there was about 15K words of scenes and bits that, at one time, I’d thought would go at the end. Now that I’m at the end, I’ve deleted most of those bits, and needed to organize the mess left behind.

No two books write the same. Each book can have similar processes, but in the end, each book demands its own process. I both love and hate that this is never predictable. I hate the uncertainty, but love that every book is a new challenge.

This is why I think writers love to share their process and learn others’ processes. For this book, I was lost. I had to resort to pen and paper. I had to make a timeline of the plot, a timeline of the emotional arc, and as I read through the first 70%-80% of the book, I notated all the bits that would need closing.

Then I wrote on another piece of paper all the ending parts that would close those bits. Then I put them in order, albeit messily. Then I put them in order in synopsis fashion.

I have NEVER done all that for a story. Usually my stories aren’t so complex, I guess, or usually I don’t have such a mess. Usually my mind isn’t such a mess. Who knows? I’m not a plotter; I’m a pantser, but since half of these scenes were already written… it’s just what needed to be done.

With each book, when I get to the part where I have no idea how this particular book will need to be written, I go in search for new ideas on how other writers write their book. Who knows what will get me through the next book? So…

How do you start your books? How do you get through the middle? How do you close the ending? How do you keep things in order? Do you plot or pants? Do you outline before or after you’ve written the scene? Do you write a synopsis beforehand? What gets you through your books to the end?