It’s Friday, and I am locked in the confessional booth, paying for my pantsing sins via soul-scouring edits. (It’s bad, y’all. I have already run one red pen dry, not even exaggerating.) But you deserve to enjoy your weekend! So I have four fun things for you, and one question as well!
Fun things!:
1. The Atlantic has a new feature! YA for Grownups! The perfect antidote for literary snottery.
2. My boyfriend is surly! And a gamer! And he is blogging about his surly gaming. Specifically, how good it is to play a bad character.
3. N. K. Jemisin, one of my super-hardcore-fangirl-crushes, talks about how she’s a sexist (and you are too) (and that’s okay!). (In fact, go read Fantasy Book Cafe‘s entire month of Women in SF&F. And stand up and cheer, coz women writing SF&F rock.)
4. DC Mafia friend C. T. Richmond shares her intolerably adorable wedding photos, and why her hubs is the best hubs for her. (1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . AWWWW!)
And a question for you . . .
How/when/why do you outline? What is your worst tale of when pantsing backfired on you? (Hmm. Pants–backfiring–yikes!)
I don’t usually write stories, but when I do I find it helpful to start and the end. How does this story end? From the ending I go to the middle. What major or minor thing happened to get me to the end? Then the beginning. How did this all start? Once I have these things, I write in the middle descriptive bits. Was it a cold day? Was there a strange man lurking around the corner?
I don’t know if that makes any sense. I’m probably doing it wrong!
When I write the blogs for my comic I don’t usually outline, but I have a note or two reminding me to include things.
I hope that was helpful. I don’t go around pantsing people. Or setting pants on fire. Or firing pants. Yeah!