I have a bit of an organic writing style. That means that I let the overall story arc, the situation, and the characters dictate how each chapter develops. There isn't a lot of rigidity or structure to how I write. It's intended to flow, almost in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way. It's not as meandering as that might imply, though.
Generally, I start with a phrase or sentence which describes the scene's main purpose. Typically, it's something like, "Flikk imprisoned/character development." That leaves quite a bit of leeway as to where that chapter can go. That's how my first outline looks; it's just a series of one sentence/phrase descriptions.
Once I've mapped out the whole story like that, I go back into it, and do a detail of each chapter. It usually looks something like this:
I. Flikk Imprisoned/Character Development
A. Introduction
1. Setting - Void Prison
i. Physical Description of the cell (size,shape, materials, etc.)
ii. Tone
2. Time Frame - A few days after capture
B. The Point
1. History
i. Intro to the character
2. Finding the Gap in the wall/Making Contact with Aime
C. Conclusion
1. Hope vs. Despair
This sort of outline gives me a good idea where I want the story to go, but it doesn't really restrict my writing. If I want to go off onto a tangent, there's room for it. However, it makes sure that I set the scene properly, I remember what the point of the scene is, and I conclude the scene in a way that sets up the conflict within the next chapter (dealing with that character).
Now, this is a really short scene, so it's a very simplistic outline. With a longer scene, though, it can get quite a bit more complicated. However, I use the same general form. Here's a sample of a long chapter from Volume Two (I don't really reveal that much, but if you want to avoid spoilers, quit reading):
SPOILERS AHEAD *** SPOILERS AHEAD *** SPOILERS AHEAD
I.
Flikk/Drea reach their destination/find out
about Orryn
a.
Introduction
i.
Castle in disrepair
1.
Feeling of Decay
ii.
Time Frame
1.
A few Days After the event
b.
The Point
i.
Greeted by a trio of elderly guards
1.
Want no trouble
ii.
The reason for the visit – need to see Orryn
1.
Not going to get much
iii.
Greeted by Orryn’s Wife
1.
Takes them to see Orryn of Aston Peak
a.
Blithering idiot. Spouts nonsense.
iv.
The Explanation
1.
Introduction
a.
The Setting
i.
Land at war
b.
The time frame.
i.
Three Generations past.
2.
Reason
a.
Elna the Cruel laying waste (winning)
i.
Explain the Witch
1.
Dread Powers (curses, blood magic, demons)
2.
Motivations (power)
ii.
Explain why she would cast the curse.
1.
The Resistance (Mace of Aston Peak)
3.
The Curse
a.
How it works (thirty-third birthday for every
male heir)
i.
Fading intelligence
b.
The Implications
c.
Conclusion
i.
The Witch Lives
1.
Imprisoned
a.
Wandering Mountain
ii.
The Quest
1.
Take Care.
Evil Witch.
This isn't the longest chapter, but it kind of shows how quickly the scene can grow. I haven't written this chapter yet (it's about halfway into the book), but I estimate that it will be anywhere from 15-20 pages long (typed - in book form, probably 30-35). The first scene was about two - three pages (it's from Volume One). I don't think I'm surprising anyone by saying that Volume Two will be quite a bit bigger (in both the length and scope of the story).
In the next update, I plan to start recapping the different types of magic users in my world. I hope it's informative and adds to your excitement for Volume Two.
As an aside, I've made Volume One as a free e-book through SMASHWORDS in anticipation of the release of Volume Two. I'm not sure how long I'll continue to offer it as a free e-book, so download it now if you're interested. You may find it HERE . I only ask that if you do download and read it, please rate or review it. There have been a couple of thousand of them sold/downloaded since Volume One's release, but I've only seen a dozen or so reviews. I write these things mostly for myself, but it really is exciting to see how someone reacts to my work. That feeling keeps me excited about writing, so hopefully, the reviews will continue to come in.
Thanks, and I hope you all enjoy my work!
