This year I am taking more of a sculpting approach to writing. I’m starting with a rough lump of story and then going back and refining it: hacking down from a basic scene outline to down into acceptable prose. Sort of like quilting, only with less needlework!

The first thing I’m doing today is laying down a rough outline of the plot so that I have a general idea of where the story is going. Most likely things will tangent a bit, as per their want, so it’s more of a terrain map than a road map. But it’s a good bit of terrain *pats her story fondly*. (Plus this will give me a chance to start breaking down word counts into ‘movements’, and that’s when I get to be artistic with the index cards. Woo!)

I’m also going to be world building a bit as I go, just so I have some notes to build from. If I have the time, I’ll turn these into an impromptu Wiki in order to help keep things straight. Nothing like forgetting which eye socket the giant spider is in! *grin*

But as things go, I’ve got roughly 1,500 words of outline and a bit of background on both the main character and the unexpected second main character. (Because what does a story with a protagonist with a giant spider living in her eye need? Why a traveling Public Service Announcement! … I have odd Muses.)

Novel webpage here: Woven