"Secrets" progress report

[edenfalling]

"Secrets" ch. 14 scene 2 is done. Unfortunately, I realized my outline made no damn sense in terms of the passage of time (I had way too much stuff happening all within the first three days after the Chamber and the restoration of the Petrified people), so I split the planned scene into two separate scenes, the first setting up the second. But the second half does not directly follow the first -- instead, scene 3 (and possibly scene 4, depending on what day of the week I decide to use for that) will separate them. Bah.

I hate my outlines. They lie to me.

(2,850 words and counting. I am such a horrible procrastinator.)

ETA: Scene 3 has somehow failed to happen. Instead I now have the start of an interlude with Ginny and the twins. WTF? I mean, it's not a bad scene, so far, and maybe I did need more of a transition between scenes 2 and 3, but still... where on earth did this come from? Is it really too much to ask that my subconscious mind explain my intentions to me with a bit more warning?

(3,200 words now. Yay progress?)

Comments

[uminohikari.livejournal.com]

*giggles* Your planning of /everything/ amuses me sometimes..

[edenfalling]

I began outlining stories mostly in self-defense. Compare the time it takes me to write 10,000 words of fanfic vs. 10,000 words of original fiction: 1 or 2 months vs. half a year minimum, generally speaking. You know what makes the difference? I don't usually outline my original stories. *sigh* Even when my outlines end up having practically nothing to do with the finished stories, the simple fact of having a written guide rope through the story is useful -- it prods me along through slack moments where I would otherwise drop the story for months at a time because I had no idea what should happen next. With an outline, I always have something to try putting next; even if the outlined scene falls flat, the way it fails usually gives me a better idea of what might succeed. :-)

(Outlines also help me avoid writing myself into corners, which is important when you're writing serially and not waiting until you have the whole story finished before you start posting individual chapters.)