Hindsight is a smug little git · 10:35pm Apr 13th, 2013
So as I mentioned in my last blog post, writing A Head Full of Clay was very much a learning experience with a sort of trial-and-error approach. Although none of my stunning realizations are likely to come as a surprise to any seasoned writer, I thought I might talk a bit about them anyway, because hey, that's what blog posts are for, right?
Bear in mind that these points are by no means obligatory in order to make a good story, and I'll most likely end up cheerfully forgetting about some of them regardless, because that's just how dopey I am sometimes. Anyway, moving right along:
1) Try to have a large chunk of your story written down before you start posting it!
Having a healthy part of your story ready in advance - perhaps even the majority of it - before you publish it means that you can keep a steady update schedule rolling even during those times when you get hit by a heavy workload/writer's block/etc. When I wrote A Head Full of Clay, it was done almost entirely on a chapter-by-chapter basis. That is to say, I would write a chapter, post it, then start writing the next. This worked out just fine at first, where I had plenty of time available in which to write, but a heavy amount of university-related work suddenly meant that there were month-long breaks between chapters. This kind of sucks for your readers, especially if you were such a genius that you left the last chapter with a cliffhanger that you really shouldn't leave like that for too long.
2) Don't post chapters the same day that you finish them!
In addition to my questionable decision to do my entire story without any proofreaders, I would often be so excited about finishing a new chapter that I would put it up after giving it only a single proofread. Coupled with the fact that I would often finish the chapter late at night (in my time zone), this meant that there would be several silly typos that I missed, and which could have been completely avoided if I had just put the chapter away for a day before giving it another look.
3) An extra pair of eyes never hurt anyone!
Having someone else give your story a look before you start to fling it wildly at the wall can really help get those oddities and weak spots hammered into shape. Often, a writer will fall into the trap of staring themselves blind at their own story, which is to say that whatever is written will make perfect sense in the writer's own head, because all the little dots are connected there. The trouble is, you may have forgotten to add these crucial dots into the actual story, and thus certain things may simply not make sense to the reader. Maybe you neglected to put in that crucial bit of dialogue or action that explains a character's behaviour. Perhaps you forgot to make it clear that X event happened, which influenced the flow of other events quite drastically. Bear in mind that there is a difference between making mistakes like these, and then having plot points that will be explained later on or which are intended to be mysterious.
4) Rarity is a fun character to write!
She really is. I don't think this point really needs much more elaboration. So much dramatic potential.
I think that pretty much sums up my thoughts for now. Coming up next... ehh, I dunno, perhaps something about the [Dark] tag.
You learned new things! Good for you!
Though I believe the most important thing is the knowledge where exactly the story is heading. As in, do not invent the story as you write it. Plan it ahead and make an outline. Create some situations that must happen in order for the story to progress and branch out of that.
Of course, sometimes stories get a mind on their own and they go somewhere else. Then you have to modify plans accordingly.
Now, some authors are capable of thinking out the storyline on the fly, but those are few and far between.
That said, you bring up valid points and some authors could really take them to their hearts.
1005424
Oh yes, knowing where you want to take your story is perhaps the most important thing, otherwise it may end up flopping around like a seal of a beach. When I wrote Clay (I think I'll just call it that for now), I had a quite firm idea of how things should develop, though a number of minor events sort of just happened as I went along.
But you're absolutely right that keeping your story focused is vital in order to move it forward.