I always struggle with making the technical aspects of the plot fit with the story that's unfolding in my imagination.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
Sometimes, I have themes that interest me or that touch on larger issues but, really, I'm just trying to figure out the plot, or how the characters work. I'm trying to make the best story I possibly can.
The most challenging and exciting aspect is the outline and formation of the plot points. This is the stage where the notion of the story begins to take shape, and I can see glimpses of what is to come.
You don't idea your way into a plot but plot your way into an idea.
I'm not much of a plotter. I start off with an inciting incident, and in classic crime fiction what happens is that all the action flows from that incident. It's very comfy when it all ties up and feels like a complete universe, but my stuff doesn't always work that way.
I'm really quite bad at coming up with plot ideas. I like to create characters and just see what will happen to them when I let them loose!
The unfolding of a story is both as exciting and as difficult for each and every novel I've written, regardless of time and place.
When you start a novel, it is always like pushing a boulder uphill. Then, after a while, to mangle the metaphor, the boulder fills with helium and becomes a balloon that carries you the rest of the way to the top. You just have to hold your nerve and trust to narrative.
I am not an analytical writer. Once I flesh out my characters and decide on the elements of my plot, the story unfolds in my head almost as though it was a movie reel.
I like to allow a story to arise as I'm writing scripts. I find it horrible when I try to think of something for the plot without really being on the ground and seeing where it goes.
I tend not to know what the plot is or the story is or even the theme. Those things come later, for me.