But, that’s not what I wanted to have happen either. I was really frustrated. It wasn’t until I was about halfway through the story that I realized that Ai could have met Kaito in her dreams. That way, she already knew him and loved him, so when she meets him at the end, it wouldn’t be so strange for them to fall in love. I had to go back to the first half of the story and rewrite large portions of it, but I think it helped to make the story stronger. I had a similar epiphany when Ai saw Kaito’s sword outside of her dream world, and wondered if he might be a ghost. I wanted the reader to wonder that as well, and still be guessing about who Kaito truly was until the very end.
All of these ideas really helped me to continue on with the story. About ¾ of the way through, I began to slow down again. It wasn’t that I didn’t know what I wanted to have happen in the rest of the story, but my ideas were so broad, that I spent a great deal of time trying to figure out exactly what was going to happen next. That’s when I decided to go against my “fly by the seat of my pants” writing mentality, buckle down, and create a thorough outline.
Other than my general plot outline, I don’t usually write with a very specific outline in hand. I’d recently heard a podcast by a fiction writer who writes about 10,000 words a day, and after researching her method, I came to realize it had everything to do with a very strong outline. I decided to give it a shot.
I took the next chapter, and broke it into three scenes that I wanted to have happen. I planned out each scene from beginning to end, even including important dialogue. By the time I was done with that chapter, I knew exactly what was going to happen next. I continued this outlining process through to the end of the story, and then sat back down to write.
I have to admit, it was hard for me to “waste” so much writing time, just to create an outline. My writing time is so limited, with a full-time job, two kids, and a husband to keep up with, that I have to be very deliberate with how I use it. I gave up a couple of writing days to creating the fleshed-out outline, and then finally began to write.
I was AMAZED at how much more quickly I was able to write the rest of the story. I finished the story in less than half the time I would have spent on it if I had not had an outline. This girl may just be sold on always creating a very thorough, three scene chapter outline for every story I write here on out.
And then, I was at the end of the story, just like that! I have to admit that endings are my hardest scenes to write. I’m never sure just where to end them. I wanted to go on and say what Ai and Kaito’s lives were like afterward. I wanted to let the reader know that the villagers, soldiers, and workers at the castle were so glad to be rid of Lord Nakaguchi that they insisted on making Kaito the next daimyo. With the golden scales, he and Ai were able to pay off the taxes to the emperor, as well as the remaining debt for the daimyo’s castle. And then of course, Kaito and Ai live happily ever after. I wasn’t sure if the reader needed to know all of that, or if it was enough to know who Kaito is, and that he and Ai find each other finally, in the real world. What do you think?
I’d love to hear your thoughts, if you’d like to share them. Tell me if you enjoyed the story, if you have questions, or just say ‘Hi!’ Send me an email at [email protected]
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My Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/dorian
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Table of Contents
Title Page
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
DEDICATION
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Glossary
Author’s Note
Ai of the Mountain (A Fairy Retelling #2) Page 8