Beginnings

Starting a blog and a novel is a very similar process for me. I have an idea of where I'm going but nothing is definite yet. There's past experience I can draw on - for novels about a dozen short stories, for a blog years of daily journal writing. Both take preplanning, though with both I tend to jump right in too soon - but the writing enhances the planning process.

Today for example. I'm a third of the way done with my shorter contemporary novel, and just finished plugging in a few more of the details on a subplot I came up with about 12,000 words in. I've been trying to think of a latent long-term goal for my main character for months now, and finally one popped into my head. Not sure if I'll use it yet, but if I'd waited to finish my planning before I began, I wouldn't have written 18,000 words in the past months and probably the idea would never have come to me.