Blood and Metal update
By the end of my visit to Ivalice in December, I found out something that does help me out with ironing out the storyline and getting the writing back on track. By moving the final confrontation between Eric and Nicolas up a bit, in the ice age part while Eric is a robian, I was able to trim just about 40 cards from the deck creating a streamlined story which I feel needed at any stage in writing any book.
Now I’m back from the holidays and that I’m less than 30 days to go, I can put the nose to that grindstone:
79 cards left in the deck, 50.9K Length in the file, and 30 days remaining.
Pardon the post necromancy, but I’ve been curious about the deck system you use when you write. How do you create the outline cards you use, and how much goes on them? Do you feel like they’ve been helpful so far?
I’m an aspiring writer myself, and I’m trying to break a bit of a creative block, as well as figure out how to get my characters from Point A to Point B in my (SADLY sketchy) novel.
Thank you for your time, and good luck on your writing!
Comment by Zemrad — January 7, 2008 @ 4:04 am
Using the card deck system’s been very helpful. It was a method of organization that I used during my college years and I brought the concept out of the mothballs for my fiction writing.
I basically write a crude outline (more like an ordered list of various scenes, dialogs, and other plot points) and add or subtract cards as I go along writing the project. Sometimes I have to move some scenes around, or even further break down one card into several new cards if a scene put on one card needs more explanation. It’s basically breaking down the proverbial element into the numerous bites. In advance, before you start ‘eating’.
I hear you about the creative block. It happens to all of us, even the real big names. There are also other tools I use to hop over those blocks, like Mind Maps. Go to Wikipedia ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_Mapping ) and find out how this fun tool can really help you.
Good luck on your own writing as well
Comment by DaveykinsFoxFire — January 10, 2008 @ 3:00 am