Readers often tell me it’s hard to put my contemporary romance novels down. All I can say is you should see it from my end. Each morning I try to put in a little writing time. In the evenings, I’m back into my manuscript. I’m either working out the next scene. Or I’m working on the next chapter. Or I’m creating a new character. It’s so much fun. I just wish I could figure out why I’m still paying for cable. Must be for those times when I’m not writing, which isn’t very often.
Sometimes people ask me how I do my job. Do I work out a detailed outline first and then follow it verbatim? Or do I just sit down and start writing? For me, it’s a little bit of both. First, I’ll write a treatment, or short plot summary. It’s not too specific and only a few paragraphs long. It’s my idea for the basic story concept. I use it to get the story started. Oftentimes I’ll have a rough idea of how it will end. However, it isn’t set in stone. Once I start writing the actual story, I set the treatment aside. From there, I go where the characters take me. Then, when I’m finished, I go back and look at the original treatment. Without exception, it’s remarkably different from the finished novel.
Someone once said life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. I think the same could be said for good story writing.
Marina Martindale
Marina Martindale writes and edits all of her blog posts herself. She does not use AI software or images of any kind. No part of this blog may be used or reproduced or transmitted in any form, or used in any matter by AI, without the express written consent Good Oak Press, LLC. Requests for permission must be addressed to Good Oak Press, LLC, P.O. Box 51244, Denton, TX 76206-1244