preparation – Welcome to Bridgetown

A few days ago I woke up super-early in the morning from an amazing dream and had that classic OMG this needs to be story!! moment, so of course I made sure that I remembered it after sliding back into slumber for a few more hours. And yes, somehow I did in fact remember it! So before it went away and before I distracted myself with any other internetty things like comics and social media drama, I logged onto/dusted off the 750 Words site and hopped to it. I’d originally meant to just work out the bare bones of the idea, but before I knew it, I was writing a full-on synopsis and a few hours later I had three thousand words and a full novel plan written out. [Side note: this once and for all proves that I really do need to work more on eliminating distractions.]

Mind you, that NEVER happens, so I didn’t question it…I just kept working at it until I had it done and finished. [And to top it off, I ended that productive day by finishing off the Diwa & Kaffi revision as well. There wasn’t too much I needed to fix, but I was certainly glad to sign that off so I can start submitting it.]

While I basked in my pride for having gotten so much done that day, I started thinking…what if I started doing this on the regular? I’ve only recently started doing synopses and outlines on a semi-regular basis, so maybe it’s time I made it a full-on part of my writing process once and for all. I thought about my other open projects on the various burners and thought, wait…maybe this will work better if I’ve got a map to work with.

So a few days later I opened up the 750 again with a test run for another complete synopsis — this time for a project I’d started/stopped/trunked/revived several times over the years. It’s not an impossible story to write, I’ve just had constant problems figuring out how it should be written. This time out, I just focused on creating a short and tight synopsis, devoid of all the moods, distractions and lingering issues. End result: another success! I figured out why it hadn’t worked in the past, and how I could approach it from a slightly different angle and have success with it. So yay me, another future project!

Which leaves me with the current two front-burner projects, both of which I’m still feeling a bit tetchy about. Neither of them have a synopsis at this time.

The issue with both is, you guessed it: lack of direction. I know where I’m going and even where I want it to end up, but there’s still a high level of flailing on both. And when I flail, the longer it takes for me to get these projects done.

So my plan for the next couple of days is to work them both out with synopses. Sure, I should have done this a long time ago, but considering both of these were started right at the start of the pandemic (and at the end of my Former Day Job) in early 2020, real life and Diwa & Kaffi sort of got in the way and I kind of forgot that this approach does in fact work sometimes (okay, most times). If I can give myself a clearer path for both of these stories, then I’ll be much happier and I won’t be flailing nearly as much.

Will it work? Who knows. I hope it will. I have faith in it now.

nowhere man typing

I’m writing this on Wednesday evening, but by the time you read this on Friday, I’ll be awake and preparing for BayCon down the road in San Mateo. Come by and say hi if you’ll be there!

Speaking of preparation…this is officially the second convention I’ll be going to where I’m actually taking part in panels to some degree. Which means that even though I’ll be going there mostly to have fun and meet other writers, in a way I’m also there on business. As much as I feel more at home riffing in conversations, playing off what other people are talking about, I should also ensure that I stay on subject. And more importantly, I should be prepared to bring up certain points that I’d like to share with the audience.

For two of the panels, the moderators reached out to the rest of us panelists for some preplanning and idea sharing, which I thought was a brilliant idea. [The moderator for one of the panels I was on at FogCon did the same, which helped a lot then as well.] It gives us a chance to come up with a barebones list of points to make and where we’d like the conversation to head. It also breaks the ice a bit! If you’re ever moderating a panel at a convention, I highly suggest doing this.

There’s also my half-page flyers to prep. By this, it’s just a simple address label stuck in the lower corner where I’ve written something along the lines of “I’ll be at these panels. Come and say hi!”. If someone sees these on the freebie table, then they can follow up if they so choose.

And as always, I’ll have needed to take some allergy meds and stashed a few bottles of water with me. Yapping on a panel for an hour or so does dry you out!

And lastly, A. and I are familiar with the area, as it’s just down the road from SF Airport. I’m sure the hotel will have a restaurant and probably a snack shop, but it’s good to know places nearby where we can stop for take-out on the way home!

I don’t need to prepare for every detail, of course. But doing at least the bare minimum so I’m prepared is good enough.

Note: Monday’s blog post will either be up late or will be up on Tuesday, due to the fact that it will be the last day of the con and I have two of the panels that day. 🙂

Tag: preparation

Writing All The Things

two novels, finish my blueprints, begin my beguine