Covering new developments

Remember that novel I posted about a few days ago that had evolved rather radically over the course of a week? Well, the planning and brainstorming for that novel continues, and recent developments include conspiracies inside conspiracies inside conspiracies, as well as angels and demons. At one point, I was actually worried that the plot that I was creating was going to displace the entire romance that I was building it around, but I'm relatively certain that I'm going to be able to keep it as it is.

The only interesting thing about it is going to be that the guy gets the girl before the main plot of the novel even starts. That's going to be kinda tough to pull off, but since the conflict after that point is going to involve this fact rather heavily, I reckon it'll be alright. In either case, at least I don't have to worry that I'm pandering to any sort of cliché, eh?
Not that that would actually worry me in the least. I'm not one to be worried about writing clichéd things. I think that if you're true to your own voice and your own style, you can make any ol' cliché appear as interesting as anything else you could come up with that hasn't been done yet.

That plot is going to keep on evolving on its own, and for once, I'm going to let it run as very crazy as I want it to. I don't feel an obligation to a specific, rigid concept as I usually do when I begin a novel, and it's actually a wonderfully liberating experience for me. Not being tied down to just one thing that has to happen or has to be told in the course of this novel, I'm free to let it run free in my imagination. It's a therapeutic experience, really; I haven't had this much of an effortless time creating anything in a very long time.

Either way, it's going to keep evolving and changing, and I'll just enjoy the ride and see what I end up with in the end. I'm very excited.

Now, you know how news segments have that um... mood-y-lift-y-upp-y thingy (I AM A WRITER CAN YOU TELL) usually involving puppies at the end of it? Well, I have something just like that for you! Inspired by my tweep Alison (@_budgie on twitter), I have devised a cover for my novel. Feast your eyes and enjoy.

p.s. I feel no remorse
p.p.s. Except for the terrible pun in the title of this post. I am so very sorry you had to bear that. I truly am.

Bringing out the flamethrowers

A few posts ago, I posted about how I was going to try the Snowflake method to plan this year's NaNoWriMo novel, talking about how my 2009 novel faltered and then died because of my poor planning and inability to keep the strings of the story in my head.

Well, since then, I've actually gotten past step 1. In fact, I've gotten as far as step 3!

I have also discovered that I freaking hate it.

Relevant to my hate toward the Snowflake method. Incidentally, I actually made this one myself. In paint. The dinosaurs in Google images were way too cute to adequately express my hatred.

The Snowflake model has no soul. I guess that if you already have an idea that is fairly articulate inside your head but don't have it down on paper yet, the Snowflake model might be some merit to it. With this, I mean that it might be a good organisational tool to get all of your ideas down in a format that will ultimately help you get your work down in an intelligible manner. But as a tool for someone who only has the very raw bones of an idea in their head, such as "two vampires, a werewolf and a shapeshifter go on a road trip" -- it probably doesn't take a genius to figure out that that was my idea -- I would definitely go as far as to say that, instead of being helpful, the Snowflake method could very well kill that idea.

You see, the Snowflake method is a method of production. It's a method of making your novel publishable: of writing a synopsis and then writing the novel to suit that synopsis. It is meant to lay your entire novel down before you actually write it, in a manner that is so clinical that makes me remember the faint chemical smell of hospital corridors. I've sat here for a few minutes, trying to get it into words why exactly I get this feeling from trying to slog through step 3 of the method, but I don't think anything I can produce right now would be very convincing. I thought about complaining about the fact that I am supposed to figure out the motives for my characters before I have actually formulated personalities for them, but in the overall sense of the central story of the novel, I guess asking about the motivation and conflict and epiphany of your characters makes sense.

But that's exactly the problem. How am I -- in fact, why am I -- supposed to know the inner workings of my novel before I've written it? I guess this sounds childish, and this may be only my own opinion, but I think that every story has a soul, and that every story teaches you something about yourself and the way you view the world. Every story evolves as you write it, and often takes you by surprise. For example, in 2009, it took me about 15 chapters to realise that one of my central characters was gay. Only a fool would plot their story out from the get-go, thinking that it won't change.

Saying that, I want to clarify that I'm in no way implying that everyone who has ever used the Snowflake model is a fool. Perhaps others like having the bones of their story down before beginning the actual creative process. I also concede that I may be using it wrong, and that perhaps I should return to it after I have a firmer grasp of what my novel is actually going to be about. But right now, it's just the wrong thing for me: I feel no creative flair when working on it, but just like I'm toiling endlessly at some sort of machinery with nothing to show for it. The point of planning, for me, at least for WriMo, is to lay down a general outline of the story in such a manner that I'm not completely at the mercy of my creative juices, especially on days when they've completely run dry. The point of planning is to inspire, and to make me excited about the scenes I've just described. The point of planning is to make me want to tell my story.

The Snowflake model is not doing it for me. I'm not sure if any planning model will work with this particular novel. I'm not sure I was ever any good at planning. I'm not sure that this story is even worth telling. But I guess I'll try to keep at it, even simmering at the back of my brain, and see if I can salvage at least a bit of what made me excited about it before.

Hope the rest of you have more luck at this than I have had.