What was my
writing life like before recipe cards?
CRAZY ! CHAOTIC ! DISORGANIZED ! OVERWHELMING !
I had notes
everywhere - on scraps of paper, in notebooks, on serviettes, on the backs of
cheques . . .
Then I bought my
first pack of recipe cards and I never
looked back!
I use the small
size, blank or lined. Sometimes I treat myself to different colours. When I'm
planning a book or I'm in the middle of a draft, every time I get an idea for a
scene (or part of a scene), I write it on a recipe card.
The rule is: only one scene or event per card.
The stack builds up which is very satisfying. And there are so many ways you
can use them.
- Spread out all
your cards on the floor and have fun rearranging them in different orders -
play with the sequence of events in your novel.
- Arrange your
cards on a bulletin board (Tip: I use a large piece of styrofoam - one
meter by one meter - that is light and portable. I can carry it around the
house!)
- Sort the cards
into beginning, middle and ending - very helpful especially with a long novel.
- Colour code the
cards to show whether the scene is backstory, flashback or present action. That
way you'll spot right away when you have too much backstory at the beginning of
your novel or concentrated in one place.
-Colour code to show which character's point
of view the scene is in.
- Write on each
card the purpose of the scene: move the plot forward, develop character,
develop theme
- Write snippets
of great dialogue
For the
environmentally conscious - write on the fronts of the cards for one book, on
the backs for your next book and recycle used cards!
Some advice from Elizabeth George in Write
Away . . .
Every writer has
to develop her own process: what works for her time and time again. Having no
process is like having no craft. It leaves you dangling out there over the
obyss, a potential victim of writer's block. Having no process puts you at
enormous risk because writing becomes a threat instead of a joy.
MY FAVOURITE
KIDS BOOK OF THE WEEK:
Holes by Louis Sacher
FUN FOR KIDS:
What if . . . you could be a magician for one day? What crazy stunts would you pull?
Next week: One Surprising Thing
hi im manjot and i really enjoyed reading the book MISSING it was gerat i love it when thea found livia when the police coldnt fing her in 60 years and my favourite person in the book was may. i wanted to alway ask you that how manny horses do you have and when did you start reading! im a fan! REAPLY.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THE BOOK MISSING!!!
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