I’m not a plotter. I’m lucky if I have a very loose plan in my head when I start. Usually I have an idea or a situation, and a character in that situation. That’s about it. I sometimes have couple other situations in my mind that I think will happen somewhere in the story, but they don’t always happen. What I do is sit down just start writing. I get to know my characters as I write the same way the reader does when they read. And once I start writing, the characters take over and the story becomes theirs. More often than not, the other situations I’d thought would be in the story don’t even end up in there.
I’ve had to accept this, and I was so lucky to have editors in the past who just let me do my thing. But this time, with this series, I’ve been using a different editor, and I really think I’m driving her a little crazy. I just want to book time for her to edit it, and she wants/needs to know what to expect. More than once she’s asked what the story will be about and what direction I want the story to go in and my reply is always the same, “I have no idea. I haven’t written it yet!”Â
Then I realized that I do have a bit of an outline….it’s my playlist. Ekaterina, I’m posting this so you can see sort of the idea of PRIMAL. Does it help?
 PRIMAL PLAYLIST
Welcome To The Jungle – Guns N’ Roses
I Just Wanna Live – Good Charlotte
Oh My! (Feat B.o.B) – Haley Reinhart
In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins
Your Body – Christina Aguilera
Something In Your Mouth – Nickleback
S&M (remix feat. Britney Spears) – Rihanna
Bring Me To Life – Evanescence
Can’t Stop This Thing We Started – Bryan Adams
My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark – Fall Out Boy
Unusual You – Britney Spears
Stay – Morgan Wallen (the Voice Performance)
Some totally awesome songs there, Sasha! 🙂
I feel for your poor editor, but it’s so hard for us writers to break from the methodology we’ve found works for us.
I knew the story was going to be good because you’re writing it. Yes, the playlist and the character sketch you gave me fills it out just fine.
Now…
WRITE!
(And rest assured, your place in the pipeline is secure.)