Sunday, June 14, 2009

Bad Company: BadCoFiMo Starts Late...

After losing Script Frenzy, I took a break from the whole WriMo thing. I took May off. As it turns out, I took almost the first half of June off too. That means my "Bad Company Finishing Month" is starting late — when the month is already half over. But at least I've actually started BadCoFiMo...

I changed my BadCoFiMo plan when I started trying to insert those JanNo/FebNo scenes from their standalone files into the main manuscript. Each day during JanNoWriMo, I wrote scenes from various parts of the novel and saved them in separate files to make sure I could count the words more easily and not mess up the main file. However, some difficulties ensued when I tried to put the scenes in their proper places in the novel. So I realized that I need a new strategy:
  1. Separate the chapters of the novel from the main file and put each chapter into a separate file, named in the order I find them in the main file.
  2. Separate each of the JanNo and FebNo files into the separate scenes, one file per scene.
  3. Organize (and, if necessary, reorganize) the files so that all the scenes are in their proper order.
  4. Take out the index cards I've already used and write ideas for the missing scenes on new blank ones.
  5. Map all the storylines and character arcs so that I have a better idea of those I've already written and how to write the unfinished and unwritten ones.
  6. Write all the remaining unwritten scenes and put them in their proper files (new ones if necessary) in the proper order.
  7. Organize the scenes and chapters again if necessary.
  8. Finally, put the whole thing back together, restoring the main file with all the original and new scenes in their new order.
This should make everything a lot easier for me to write and edit, even if it's more unwieldy on my hard drive and in Word.

I still plan to finish the first complete draft this month. I've simply gotten a late start on it, as I've gotten distracted by news and opinion websites, which can get addictive...

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