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Shed Diaries: Back to work
It’s been over two weeks since I made a shed diary post. That’s mainly because I’ve been working on the shed and then working on Book 4. I did intend to give folks an update, but I was so hot to get back to writing that I was eyeballs deep in the Once & Future world before I was able to formulate a post.
Shed Diaries: Speed bumps
Last week I told you about our plans for my new shed office. Well, I’m excited to say that we have an ALMOST completed new building in our back yard. Now that it’s there, I’m getting crazy excited about being able to walk out the back door with my morning coffee and getting my words in. I’m ready to put my desk in there now. But there are a few things left to do on the inside. And unfortunately the building isn’t quite done.
Shed Diaries: A Shed is Born
Okay, you’ve all seen the State Farm commercial about the woman who’s she shed catches on fire. For a lot of American’s that’s the first time they heard the term she shed, but I’ve had my eye on a she shed for a while. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you might remember my “lady loft” at our old house. It was a big beautiful attic office where I could overlook the rooftops of our old neighborhood, and daydream. It was my retreat space where I did all my business-y author stuff. It’s why my blog is called “Notes from the Loft”.
It's beginning to look a lot like...
I am SO EXCITED for Book 4. And because I’m so excited for Book 4, I’ve got a couple of tidbits to share. First, the working title for Boo 4 is officially Nothing Good Gets Away. Working titles are always subject to change, but I’m getting pretty attached to this one. It comes from a letter that John Steinbeck wrote to his son on the occasion of his first love. It’s a beautiful letter, and a beautiful sentiment, but taken out of context those words become very equivocal. I dig that in a title.
Putting some flesh on those bones
Are you still with me? Got your Beat Sheet ready? Now that you’re sketched out the main arc of the story, It’s time to dive in and make a scene by scene outline. This is where that prioritized list and Beat Sheet get translated into your story. Think of the Beat Sheet as high level telling what will happen in your book. Now, it’s time to get to showing.
I'm Plotting Something
After I finished drafting the Haverhill project, I decided to get into a plotting frame of mind by reading a book that’s been on my TBR shelf for a while, Save the Cat Writes a Novel. If you’re not familiar with the Save the Cat plot structure, I highly recommend checking it out. It started as a guide for screenwriters to help them develop successful screenplays. The method focuses mainly around something called a Beat Sheet. The idea is that to keep your story moving and following an arc that will keep readers turning pages, you should focus on a set series of story beats.
Getting Started
I talk to so many people who say that writing a book (novel, memoir, non-fiction) is a goal or theirs but they don’t necessarily know where to start, or if their story is interesting enough. So, I thought I would share how I get started on a project. If you’ve ever listened to me talk about writing, you probably know that I’m a plotter. I like to outline. I plot everything from novels to emails to my kids teachers.
On to the next
Hallelujah! I finally finished the first draft of my Southern women’s fiction novel. The current working title is Haverhill Harmony, but that is likely to change. Since I usually pick the title after the book is done, I can’t say what the final title would be but I have some ideas.