My formula is simple, come up with a good plot and start writing. It's that simple. I don't agonize over lengthy outlines, genre conflicts, or even if I think people are going to read it or not. I believe that a writer has to be free of all the outside manias and phobias thrown up to slow a writer down. When I sit down to write I don't worry about how many will I sell, what if people don't like it, or what if I offend someone.That's all speed bump trash thrown out by the nay-Sayers that surround authors; the ones that feed off our words and would have us believe that we can't go it alone and must have their expertise to guide our careers. If a writer is serious about writing, then he leaves all that outside minutia at the cave entrance. Write the story that you want to write, bring in characters that well defined and strong enough to carry their own weight along the story line. Be inventive, blow your mind away with each paragraph, get tingles running a goose bump marathon up and down your body. Create excitement, if you can excite yourself, then your reader will pick up on that and be excited too. Live your story in your mind, never pull back and question what your characters have done or said. Let your creations set the pace and the plot...it's amazing how they all want to live the closer you get to the last page.
I'm a pantser too. I can't for the life of me outline or do a synopsis prior to the writing. Even as a kid in school, I'd have to do a rough draft in order to do the outline that was due first! I know some who make all the very detailed 50 page outlines, charts, index cards, yada yada beforehand. Good for them if that's what they need to do. My characters would stray from any outline or pre-destined thought on my part. They make the story come alive as I write it. Besides, discovery is half the fun. If I knew what was going to happen and for sure how it was going to end...where's the fun in that? :-)
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