Word count goal this week: 40 000 words.
Word count goal so far: 25 250 words
Nothing is left of that poor outline I work so hard on, except for Main Characters, SideKick, Love Interest, Ally, Antagonist.
What can I say, as I get to know more about the characters, as they develop, the story inevitably takes a new turn.
Many new turns in this case.
Some of the ideas I outlined, like the end, will remain similar for some character, but the climax and, most of all, the ending is heading in a whole, unexpected direction.
And that direction is:
I’m writing a stand alone!
I started with an idea for a trilogy. But the whole built-up was too long, too dry, too much like something I feel I read ten times already. I was bored writing it, for G sake!
And that is very, very bad.
My problem? I focused too much on beats sheet, too much on writing this exact scene at the 12% freaking mark or something, and not on what really matters.
Can I have fun writing this YA novel? Can I just write to the best of my current abilities and fix the unbearable beats sheet mistake I made along the way later?
Yes and Yes.
What really matters is writing a good novel. Writing a story reader’s would enjoy, at the very least!
Darn, it’s hard enough writing a novel without stressing about how commercial-y it… looks?… sounds?
Anyway.
All this rambling to say, while I think it was useful to write an outline for the current YA WIP, I will for sure spend way less time on it for the next writing project.
I had a fun little idea on my way back from the groceries store the other day. It’s simmering already!
Dear writer friends, until next time…
Marie Alice Writes & Reads 