By Marian P. Merritt
At any given time, most authors have hundreds of stories and
characters running through their thoughts. Sometimes with the myriad of
characters and stories it's hard to pin down which one to write and how to move
forward to get them all written.
How does a writer stay focused and EVER get any of those stories
actually finished?
I realized my writing life would be filled with perpetual ideas
with none published if I didn't get a system that worked for me. Too many times
I'd start a story only to get waylaid by the next idea that entered my
thoughts.
In order to keep some semblance of organization, I developed a
method that works for me.
It's the Four-Burner Method, as in like a four-burner stove. Okay,
I'm Cajun and everything has to relate to cooking or food. J
It works like this. I have four stories in varying degrees of
completion simmering on my four-burner writing stove.
·
Large burner bottom right – My completed manuscript. It's in the
EDITING phase.
·
Large burner bottom left – My current works-in-progress. It's the
story I'm WRITING.
·
Small burner top right – Idea I'm developing with DETAILED
character analysis and plot ideas.
·
Small burner top left – Idea I'm LOOSELY developing with
characters and vague ideas for a plot.
I'm a character first author. Which means that I develop my
stories with a character in mind then create the plot around that character.
To capture those fleeting story ideas, I have a notebook with a
subdivision called, STORY IDEAS. Yea, I know, real original.
Anytime I think of a new idea for a plot or character, I jot
the idea in my notebook. An electronic file works for this as well. I like the
notebook, because I can carry it in my purse or next to my bed and quickly
write the idea before it eludes me. Yes, I'm at that age.
Here's a flow chart to illustrate how the Four-Burner Method
Works. Using this method makes goal setting easier because the writer has
four stories to advance and has an idea of when each story will move to the next
phase. What's nice about this structure for me is that I must get the edited
story complete and submitted first. Then complete my works-in-progress so it
can move into the editing phase before I start writing the next story.
This would not work for all writers because we're wired
differently, but it has kept me moving in a forward direction. And for this
easily distracted writer, it's been a blessing.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Marian Pellegrin Merritt writes stories that blend her love of
the mountains with her deep Southern roots. She is an author and freelance
writer with over ten year’s experience. Her work has appeared in newspapers,
magazines and online websites and garnered a first place award in ACFW's
Genesis contest.Marian is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and
Women's Fiction Writers Association. Her first fiction title, Southern Fried Christmas, released in 2012. Her other books include A Cajun Christmas Miracle, Deep Freeze Christmas. Her latest book is
The Vigil, releases today. She holds a Bachelor
of Science degree in physical therapy and an accounting certificate from the
University of South Alabama. This Louisiana native writes from the Northwest
Colorado home she shares with her husband and a very spoiled Labradoodle.
Connect with her through Website, Blog,
Facebook, Twitter
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