…where you just have to sit down and flesh out the rest. In my experience, at least 🙂
I’m not sure exactly how to define this point. Maybe it’s more subjective than anything. But probably about 75% through the plot is close enough to approximate it, I think.
Every writer is different, of course. It’s always fascinating to me to learn about others’ processes, as they vary so widely and there’s certainly no ‘right way’ to go about it.
In case any of y’all are curious, I tend to write my stories chronologically from start to finish, allowing my muse to guide the way, so to speak. I have an end in sight, sometimes major plot points out there like landmarks in the distance, but mostly I’m going with the spontaneous flow of the narrative. Which is scary at times, but also thrilling creatively because even as the author you’re bound to be surprised by what develops organically from dropping the characters into a given premise.
All that said, I think what naturally leads me to this ‘fleshing out point’ is the inevitable need to draw the various story and character threads back together into a cohesive whole. I don’t know shit about jazz, but from what little I’ve heard, bringing its organized chaos back into harmony is kind of how finishing out a long-form story feels to me. Those abstract images finally align together to complete the vision.
The cool thing about writing (and I’m sure any craft) is that you can see your own process evolving over time. With Stasis and Transgressions, my first completed fics, this fleshing out process took the form of a purely mental outline, which I rehashed in my head until I had it memorized to the tee. Not the most efficient method by any means 😅
With Control, which had a more complex plot, I took the pains to finally pen an outline, which was a great exercise that really helped the final arc of the story to crystallize in my mind. Of course, things still turned out a bit differently in the ultimate analysis. It’s funny now to me to compare this original outline to how the story actually turned out!
All this is to say that I’ve reached that point now with The Pact, where I feel the necessity to pin down the rest of the remaining story events. This time, I’m doing it by writing out the rest of the story as a sort of abridged version, just to capture the remaining key plot points in a narrative flow that’ll lead to the most enjoyable read 🙂 Bear with me while I hash this out – I’m very close to finished! Will be getting the next installment out after that, hopefully tomorrow, but if not, next week.
It’s exciting to be approaching the final climactic arc of The Pact 🙂
Just like with the original outline for Control, I plan to share the original ‘outline’ of The Pact with y’all once the story is complete. It’ll be interesting to see how close to the mark this one lands.
Thanks for bearing with me, and hope y’all are as excited to see the fruits of this labor as I am!
💕
Thanks for the insider’s peak into your creative process. I am on pins and needles to read the grand finale. The only thing that is remotely good about the Pact ending is the possibility that we may get a bit more Hirokin time!
Thank you, Siomarabelle!! Funny that you should mention Hirokin – I’ve been working a bit on the next RA installment lately 🙂 Hope to have it up sometime soon!
So glad you’re excited to see how The Pact turns out! I’m so excited to share it!!
🥰🥰
Can’t wait! Thank you so much for sharing your writing process, it’s very cool to see specially with how much your process has changed from transgressions and stasis to control and the pact. Always looking forward to your work!
Aww thank you, Chloedrew! Writing is certainly a journey – it’s been a humbling but rewarding experience, and I’m looking forward to more many stories to come!
Appreciate the support and encouragement! Happy reading 🥰🥰
Hi!
I’m glad to see YOU evolving with every story you write. And your creative process becoming more refined as you progress through your long-form fics. Still so glad I took the plunge with Control. Your Sesshomaru tends to be a bit darker and I shy away from him a little but it’s always worth my while in the end. Excited for the finale of The Pact!
Thanks!
-EM
Thank you, EM – I really appreciate it!! I hope to continue to grow and evolve as a writer, and your support has been invaluable to me in pursuing this goal 🙂
Dark stories are demanding both to write and to read, but there’s something uniquely compelling about them. I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed Control!!
Hope you enjoy the finale of The Pact as well! Thanks again for the kind words 🥰🥰
Thank you for another personal perspective journal! Love these! Yup missing Hirokin too but can’t get enough of this story either! So glad the emails came back…. Seems to have been a combination of things.
“So glad the emails came back…. Seems to have been a combination of things.” – yep had to try a couple of different fixes, but I think they’re finally all good now! 😊
Glad you enjoyed the post! It’s fun to do some pure blogging now and then!! 😉
So great to hear from you, Celes! Hope you and yours are doing great!! 🥰🥰
Thank you Char for working so hard on all these stories!!
You should know, I still harbor great hopes for Absolution to be finished some day… all in your time, of course!
Thank you, friend!! I’m also itching to finish Absolution – once The Pact is done, it’s next on my list 🙂
❤❤