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Two If By Sea: the final countdown!
Mar. 9th, 2011 12:02 amHoly cow. I just sat down and did a pretty strict plotting-out of what's going to happen in the final chapters of Two if by Sea. It took an hour and a half, but I've got the last nine chapters of the story pretty well nailed down. It (feels like it) will be epic!
I've been worried all along that I won't be able to fit everything into the story that I wanted, given that some of the scenes I have for it have been written out for almost the entire year I've been working on the great, sprawling epic it's become. So I looked at my pre-written stuff and figured out that there were five scenes in there that I considered necessary to the story. This does leave a few little bits and pieces left over, but I don't feel like I'm sacrificing them, so that's a good sign.
I tried to be realistic about what each of the final nine would include, and I hope I've estimated accurately. It sucks to have to shuffle things around because this chapter feels a little thin, or that one's become overwhelming. Also, I try not to swap perspectives more than once during a chapter, so that has a real impact on the way the story gets structured. This can do some interesting things to the internal chronology of the story too, because I'm much more likely to follow a character for longer, just because I know I'm not going to be jumping from Gojyo to Sanzo and back to Gojyo all in the same chapter.
Despite not actually finishing the story yet, I'm feeling pretty triumphant. I know what's going to happen, when, and to/with whom. I have no loose ends to speak of. And! I am reasonably confident that I didn't deliberately crib plot devices and so forth from any book/movie/story I can name. I know there are lots and lots of elements and motifs and themes that are constantly being recycled--and I can name at least half a dozen off the top of my head that I've got in this story--but I'm happy that I can't say "Oh! This is just like (fill-in-the-blank pop culture standard)!" It's disappointing and frustrating when that happens, and I try to avoid doing that.
Now all I have to do is write the darn thing, and I'll be all set. XD
~later
I've been worried all along that I won't be able to fit everything into the story that I wanted, given that some of the scenes I have for it have been written out for almost the entire year I've been working on the great, sprawling epic it's become. So I looked at my pre-written stuff and figured out that there were five scenes in there that I considered necessary to the story. This does leave a few little bits and pieces left over, but I don't feel like I'm sacrificing them, so that's a good sign.
I tried to be realistic about what each of the final nine would include, and I hope I've estimated accurately. It sucks to have to shuffle things around because this chapter feels a little thin, or that one's become overwhelming. Also, I try not to swap perspectives more than once during a chapter, so that has a real impact on the way the story gets structured. This can do some interesting things to the internal chronology of the story too, because I'm much more likely to follow a character for longer, just because I know I'm not going to be jumping from Gojyo to Sanzo and back to Gojyo all in the same chapter.
Despite not actually finishing the story yet, I'm feeling pretty triumphant. I know what's going to happen, when, and to/with whom. I have no loose ends to speak of. And! I am reasonably confident that I didn't deliberately crib plot devices and so forth from any book/movie/story I can name. I know there are lots and lots of elements and motifs and themes that are constantly being recycled--and I can name at least half a dozen off the top of my head that I've got in this story--but I'm happy that I can't say "Oh! This is just like (fill-in-the-blank pop culture standard)!" It's disappointing and frustrating when that happens, and I try to avoid doing that.
Now all I have to do is write the darn thing, and I'll be all set. XD
~later
