Day One: Exasperation and Then Consensus
Aug162008
We were only in Campfire for an hour, but we got a lot done, mostly resolving the differences in our plots. Bob got exasperated and so did I (couldn’t he see my brilliance?) but we figured the plot out, at least the general structure and the first act, so now the ball’s in my court: rewriting the first scene.
And then he said, “Let’s meet again Tuesday.” Tuesday? Huh. Okay.
So I will be writing my first act scenes between now and then. Trying to do a scene a day, just getting the rough down. Starting now . . . well, after my nap.
******
I’m sure I’ve said this before, but first scenes are a bitch. The reader knows nothing and has to be clued into everything without any anvilicious infodump in the course of the regular conflict of the scene. And after you’ve struggled with it for hours, days, weeks, you end up changing it because the first scene is the scene you write last; you don’t really know what it’s about until you see how the book turns out since the first scene really introduces the climax.
If that makes sense.
But I like this new first scene much better. It helps to have been thinking about this for literally months, too, but it’s more interesting and a lot less twee, which is always good. (I think it’s always good, in a book full of outrageous characters, to have the central figures fairly sane and not nearly as colorful. And if there’s one thing this book is chock full of, it’s Colorful.) What the scene desperately needs now is structure, a logical build of conflict. It’s sort of all over the place like any first draft, but Bob has to play the next scene off of this one so . . .
Back to the keyboard.
***********
So I’m trying something new in the interests of speed. I did a table in Word (yes, I’ve been writing with Bob too long, I’m doing tables, but at least they’re not in Excel) that had six rows across and eight rows down.
I skipped the first cell and wrote in the names of the five characters in the scene in the order they appeared:
M.I. Glenda Maga Dave Ray
Then in the first column, I wrote:
Goal
Beat 1
2
3
4
5
6
Then I filled in the blanks to see how the characters’ attempts to get their goals escalated with each beat. It’s not quite there yet, but I’ll sleep on it and have it tomorrow and then I’ll rewrite it and do the next scene, the best friend scene in the ice cream parlor. The ice cream parlor was probably not a great move for me since I end up eating whatever I put in the book, but so few amusement parks have a salad bar . . .
Onward undaunted. Even if I am working alone until Tuesday. Sheesh.
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32 Comments to 'Day One: Exasperation and Then Consensus'
On August 17, 2008 at 12:03 am nanaimo gran said...
Oh boy!! Jenny and Bob working “together” again. Hurry up and get it published. I can’t even volunteer to be a “reader” since I am so uncritical I’d say “its great” thus losing any credability I have.
On August 17, 2008 at 5:08 am Louise said...
See? I said you write great blogs and this proves it.
It’s interesting that dilemma with the first scene. I find I can’t get going without one but, as you say, it’s usually got to die and be reborn at least once before the things done.
And I don’t usually like tables but the one you’re working on sounds intriguing. I look forward to hearing more about that.
Have fun with the writing. And the ice cream.
Thank you for sharing the experience with us.
On August 17, 2008 at 6:15 am Kira said...
See, if this were real life, and we were your real friends, we would all chip in for an ice cream maker.
Salad bar … [guffaw]
On August 17, 2008 at 6:45 am Kate said...
Interesting perspective on first scene. I will keep that in mind. I think it will help from getting too frustrated. At least until it needs to be redone.
I love this type of thing too. It does feel like we’re real friends. I would love some ice cream too.
Looking forward to more.
On August 17, 2008 at 9:04 am McB said...
Do you get to eat funnel cake, too?
On August 17, 2008 at 10:05 am Steph said...
funnel cake and hot pretzels with mustard and cotton candy – which i don’t personally eat along with candied apples – wow, there’s lots of fun amusement park food. yep, it’s lunchtime here;)
On August 17, 2008 at 10:11 am Melissa Blue said...
My theory: First scenes are easy to write, but a b#%ch to revise.
Also, it looks like the plotters in our life has rubbed off on us. I’d be more upset if the words weren’t bursting out of me. But, yes, stay away from Excel. You’d start doing other things, things you can’t take back.
Lastly, glad to see you blogging again. Nothing but good times ahead.
On August 17, 2008 at 11:45 am Louis said...
Ice cream is good.
Crumble a few plain potato chips on top and it’s even tastier.
On August 17, 2008 at 12:24 pm Becky said...
Interesting. The first scene almost always comes through loud and clear for me. It’s everything after Act One that gives me fits.
On August 17, 2008 at 1:19 pm robena grant said...
I just ditched my entire first chapter so I know what you mean. My second one definitely mirrored the ending. I guess its my pantser way of exploring who my characters are and (cough cough)infodumping. Might steal, I mean borrow, that graph for looking at beats.
Happy writing.
On August 17, 2008 at 5:45 pm GatorPerson said...
Why not wait to write the 1st scene until after you’ve written the rest of the novel?
Ummm, a table is a table whether the software is geared to words or numbers or multiple tables, aka databases.
Still, why bother to write the 1st scene at all until everything else is done. That way you don’t edit the 1st every time something happens later than you didn’t anticipate when you started.
On August 17, 2008 at 6:15 pm Sheri said...
Wow. You’re right about the first scene. I just realized that is exactly what happened with a story I have been working on. I always had a general idea of where I wanted the story to go, but over time and with writing I discovered that the entire first scene was WRONG and had to be thrown out and re-written. I was all worried and thought I had screwed up, but now I see that it was just part of the process. See? Blogging is good–we learn things even when you’re not trying to teach!
On August 17, 2008 at 6:22 pm Sheri said...
Don’t forget corn dogs and popcorn–ooo, and deep-fried Twinkies! Gotta have those! And garlic fries. But the deep-fried Twinkies are a definite food requirement for any self-respecting amusement park. Is this park gonna be in the South? Because you know it ain’t southern unless it’s fried!! LOL!
Ice cream on a deep-fried Twinkie–damn, I gotta go back to Boardwalk again and get some….
On August 17, 2008 at 7:41 pm Eva Gale said...
Kettle corn and lemonaide. Waffle and ice cream sandwiches! Blooming onions.
This beat thing you do-’splain that one again? Please?
On August 17, 2008 at 8:02 pm Jenny said...
Beats are units of conflict, like little scenes within a scene. The conflict rises with each beat until the climax of the scene.
And I am NOT listening to you people talk about fair food. In fact, I’m going to go have a nice salad right now.
On August 17, 2008 at 8:40 pm Jill said...
You will gain 5 pounds just watching this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-5Lr2IhB_o
On August 17, 2008 at 9:13 pm inkgrrl said...
Omigod fair food… we just went grocery shopping. Hungry. Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry.
On August 17, 2008 at 9:37 pm talpianna said...
I have read that new writers’ second books are always a disappointment coming after the acclaimed first one.
That’s why I’ve decided to write my second book first.
On August 17, 2008 at 11:20 pm Jeepgirl said...
Oh man, I just got home from my church’s festival. I chair the (soft serve) ice cream booth. I started a riot giving away free ice cream to empty the machine.
I had lots of ice cream, a funnel cake, a brat, egg rolls, kebobs, fried cheese, chili fries, etc.
I was there working for 3 days, I couldn’t help myself.
On August 18, 2008 at 2:24 am DownUnderGal said...
LOL. 1 hour in campfire and there was exasperation
Ooh boy, that doesn’t bode well. Think maybe having fire around is not a good idea.
Tried churros(?sp) in Disneyland. They were kind of…different…
On August 18, 2008 at 9:45 am AndreaS said...
Fair food! Our MN state fair begins this weekend, and the fairgrounds is like 10 minutes from my house. Also, I have tickets. So I am prepared to eat all of those things… on a stick. Because that’s how we Minnesotans roll. Sub on a stick? You betcha!
On August 18, 2008 at 10:47 am Marcia in OK said...
Fall is the perfect time to follow along with the writing of this book. The weather is cooling down, the days are getting shorter, football is starting, and the fair is coming to town in just a few weeks.
Can’t wait to hear about Tuesday’s chat.
On August 18, 2008 at 12:31 pm Lou said...
Jenny, The California State Fair is on right now. Lots of deep-fried stuff, and stuff on a stick, and steak fingers, and sugar… Just saying…
On August 18, 2008 at 1:13 pm sheagal said...
I did not go to a fair, but I made my first trip to Yocco’s Hot Dogs yesterday. It’s a Lehigh Valley thing, I guess. We were driving home from Pittsburgh. They have a choice of french fries or fried perogies as a side. Those perogies would give any fair food a run for the money. They’d also be pretty cool on a stick. However, they need dipping sauce. Maybe I missed it.
On August 18, 2008 at 4:07 pm mcrowley41 said...
Jenny: Doesn’t Agnes and the Hitman come out in paperback soon?
On August 18, 2008 at 6:13 pm Absolute Cherry said...
While we’re on the subject of fair food, somebody needs to figure out a recipe for an Ectoplasm slushy! And/or an Ectogasm, for those really rough days.
P.S.: One should NOT read this blog while on South Beach…. I think it actually has a measurable carb content.
On August 18, 2008 at 6:29 pm lady T said...
Too many donuts and not enough salad for me today. And I’m trying not to change my first scene any more until I reach the end.
My kids went back to school today, so now I’m getting caught up on Argh, Ink. Goodness, I’ve missed quite a bit…and I’m glad you’re still here for now and for as long as we can listen and write back to you! And I love when you post comments. Like the clarification on beats. Helpful reminders! And fun connection with us. And finally, I’m glad I hopped on in time for this 12 day ride!
On August 18, 2008 at 7:19 pm ChariDee said...
So I’m reading this post today (which is Monday) thinking,”What, she has to wait an entire day?” And then I see that this was actually posted SATURDAY, and I totally dig the whole – HAVING TO WAIT UNTIL TUESDAY thing. men! (I would cap that, except, do men really deserve to be capped?)
Love the writing posts. I totally don’t feel like such a loser now for changing the first chapter every time I write a new chapter!
On August 18, 2008 at 9:39 pm Jenny said...
I think Agnes is out the 25th. I think.
Clearly my marketing skills need work.
On August 18, 2008 at 11:46 pm Jill said...
The 26th
http://www.amazon.com/Agnes-Hitman-Jennifer-Crusie/dp/0312363052/ref=ed_oe_p
And we are having a AATHM fun cntest on JCF 1-7 of Sept.
On August 19, 2008 at 6:30 pm talpianna said...
DARK LIGHT, the new Jayne Castle, is also supposed to be out on the 26th, but overstock.com has already shipped my copies.
Of course, they probably won’t arrive till the 26th!
On August 21, 2008 at 5:41 pm Lorrie said...
I learn something about writing every time I visit Jenny’s Web site and explore around (which I’m doing more these days). Thanks for the information on ‘beats.’