Welcome to the Organic Writing Jungle
There is an outstanding book on writing you may have read, or listened to as an audiobook called On Writing: A memoir of the craft by Stephen King. The book doesn’t read like a manual, but rather engages with a series of intriguing stories. Go figure, it’s Stephen King we’re talking about. The key message is that stories are unearthed rather than invented. King states that he occasionally outlines his stories, but basically ignores the device.
Like many writers, I took this advice as validation of my proclivity for writing by the seat of my pants. Which is why the first thirty-thousand words of a novel are rollicking good fun. It is also why finishing a novel and revising a completed manuscript has been a burden—a long process of cutting scenes, characters, and subplots. Editing a seat of the pants novel is an exercise in self-flagellation and temptations to quit.
Benefits of Organic (seat of the pants) Writing
1) Time: organic writers can dive in and go, no need for characters biographies, months of research, or extensive planning.
2) Freshness: striking the page while that early morning inspiration is hot often leads to vivid scenes, engaging characters, and surprising plot twists.
3) Surprise (and originality): if the writer doesn’t know what is going to happen next, then neither will the reader (in theory).
Problems and traps of Organic Writing
1) Time wasting: it isn’t uncommon to write several thousand words and grow cold on what seemed like a good idea or premise.
2) Blind alleys: writing into a corner probably happens to everyone, but there is a difference between being stuck and having to start over.
3) Disillusionment: nothing is worse than realizing a brilliant, middle of the night inspiration is just another cliche.
Numerous books on planning and structuring exist. I read several, learned a lot, but still struggle to stick faithfully to an outline. Now I take the best of each approach.
Hardcore Novel Planning
1) Spend huge amounts of time developing the premise of the story. In extreme cases, spend an entire lifetime and never start the first page. (Not recommended)
2) Craft story biographies to the last detail. Know each character’s favorite color and how many squares of toilet paper they use. Have the antagonist take away the toilet paper and see what this conflict does to the plot.
3) Using the traditional three act structure (beginning, middle, and end), write a scene by scene outline. This can be a lot of fun, but might cause the writing to feel like a series of homework assignments.
Free and easy Organic Novel Planning
1) Start on page one. Hope for the best.
Organic Writing Plan – The Hybrid of Structure and Inspiration
1) Develop your premise and characters in sufficient detail to get started. Write several passages that you don’t plan to use in the novel. Explore inspiration.
2) Imagine at least five critical points in your story: the inciting incident (hook), the first plot point, the midpoint, the second plot point, and the ending. (See Story Engineering by Larry Brooks for more on this. His thoughts on structure are outstanding.)
3) Create a scene by scene outline, but deviate as needed. Keep in mind that each section of a novel has a job to do.
4) Remember the little people (me) when you hit the New York Times Bestseller List.
Super Creepy Sidebar
Halfway through writing this article, I took a short walk and saw a man who looked exactly like Stephen King. He scowled at me.
Recommended Reading
On Writing: A memoir of the Craft (Stephen King)
Write Great Fiction – Plot & Structure (James Scott Bell)
Story Engineering (Larry Brooks)
Writing in Overdrive (Jim Denney)
The 90 day novel (Alan Watt)
Elements of Style (William Strunk Jr., E. B. White, Roger Angell)
Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise Any Manuscript with the Book Architecture Method (Stuart Horwitz)
Lost Hero
Changed by captivity and torture, hunted by the Reapers of Hellsbreach and wanted by Earth Fleet, Kin Roland hides on a lost planet near an unstable wormhole.
When a distant space battle propels a ravaged Earth Fleet Armada through the same wormhole, a Reaper follows, hunting for the man who burned his home world. Kin fights to save a mysterious native of Crashdown from the Reaper and learns there are worse things in the galaxy than the nightmare hunting him. The end is coming and he is about to pay for a sin that will change the galaxy forever.
When a distant space battle propels a ravaged Earth Fleet Armada through the same wormhole, a Reaper follows, hunting for the man who burned his home world. Kin fights to save a mysterious native of Crashdown from the Reaper and learns there are worse things in the galaxy than the nightmare hunting him. The end is coming and he is about to pay for a sin that will change the galaxy forever.
Books
Enemy of Man: Book One in the Chronicles of Kin Roland was written for fans of military science fiction and science fiction adventure. Readers who enjoyed Starship Troopers or Space Marines will appreciate this genre variation. Powered armor only gets a soldier so far. Battlefield experience, guts, and loyal friends make Armageddon fun.
Movies
If you love movies like Aliens, Predator, The Chronicles of Riddick, or Serenity, then you might find the heroes and creatures in Enemy of Man dangerous, determined, and ready to risk it all. It’s all about action and suspense, with a dash of romance—or perhaps flash romance.
From the Author
Thanks for your interest in my novel, Enemy of Man. I hope you chose to read the book and enjoy every page.
If you have already read Enemy of Man, how was it? Reviews are appreciated!
Have a great day and be safe.
If you have already read Enemy of Man, how was it? Reviews are appreciated!
Have a great day and be safe.
Buy Now @ Amazon
Genre – Science Fiction
Rating – R
More details about the author
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