The Anatomy of a Book – Work in Progress

The writing has started on THE AMALFITANO’S BOLD SEDUCTION!

It wasn’t exactly easy. While working on the notes and charts for the story, I changed computers three times, working locations twice, and the place I was staying twice. Before actually putting words on the page, I had to be sure I had the latest versions of all the preliminary files. Yes, I could have saved myself a lot of trouble by using a cloud service, but I’ve been dragging my feet on that. Meanwhile, a thumb drive is my transfer method of choice. I just have to the check file “save” dates with extra care. Added to answering email and tending to a couple of other things on my To-Do list, I got a fairly late start to my first writing day.

I also had to clear my desk the weekend before. Between finishing a book, helping manage Steel Magnolia Press plus spring and summer travel, things had really piled up -- as you can see from this “Before” photo. I spent several hours going through papers, filing or archiving what was important and tossing the rest. My trash can is full, and its contents will go to the burn pile instead of the dump for safety. But my desk now looks like the “After” picture. What’s more important is that my brain felt clearer afterward, more ready to concentrate on a story. Funny, but that’s the way it works.

So yes, I started work on Monday, August 26, at about 11:00 a.m., finished around 5:30 p.m., and put 2046 words on this WIP (work in progress) to more than make my daily goal of 2000 words. I actually completed the first scene in the heroine’s point of view, then continued the scene on Tuesday with the hero’s POV. The following days had the same pattern, with 2000+ words a day completed for the rest of the week. Yes! I made my weekly goal of 10,000 and am now well into Chapter 3, heading toward 10 - 12 chapters and 50 - 60,000 words.

Is the writing perfect? Good grief, no – this is a rough draft that will have to be edited at least twice. But it’s a nice start.

So far I’ve talked about where story ideas come from, dramatic story situations, naming characters, character charts, title choices, brainstorming, chapter charts,writing in scenes and first words. Scroll down for more of this blog series on how I put a book together.

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Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

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The Anatomy of a Book - Making Scenes

So far I’ve talked about where story ideas come from, naming characters, dramatic story situations, title choices, character charts, brainstorming, chapter charts and organizing the writing. Scroll down for more of this blog series on how I put a book together.

You know that books are written in scenes, right? That it’s amateurish and boring to catalog everything a character does, so you must choose the most useful or exciting moments? That every scene should have a purpose, whether to illustrate character, develop the primary relationship, establish or escalate conflict or drive the story forward with action and reaction?

Great.

 

If you’ve read this far in this series of posts on how I put a book together, you won’t be surprised to hear that I often outline the scene coming up in my WIP. I do this not because I’m OCD - well, not completely! – but because I have a vivid picture of the scene in my mind and want to be certain I capture every bit of it, painting that scene with words. My notes include some, if not all, of the following:
 

• The information that will carry the story forward.
• The season and time of day if it has bearing on the action.
• POV character and her/his goal and motivation.
• What the characters are wearing and how they appear.
• Conflict that arises between the characters and their attitudes toward it.
• Brief outline of any specific dialogue exchange I’ve heard in my head.
• Effect on the romantic relationship as a result of this scene.
• Snippets of backstory that might have bearing.
• Subtle, or not so subtle, hint of what might happen next as a hook.

My notes for the first scene of Book 3 in my Italian Billionaires series look like this then: 

• Cop Heroine is in a hurry, resents the traffic jam she comes upon, decides to fix it.
• Describe Amalfi Coast Road, its beauty, problems and dangers. Early evening. Rain. Fog.
• Heroine rescues the cat named Trouble in Italian. Describe cat.
• Enter the hero, describe him, his clothing in heroine’s POV.
• Explore in dialogue their different ideas on how to fix the traffic jam.
• Their mutual cooperation to solve the problem.
• Sensual tension between the two main characters.
• Hero’s POV, describe heroine; his exasperation with her take-charge attitude.
• His backstory of why he has the cat, why it’s important that no one knows he has it.
• Describe heroine’s rental car going over the cliff -- and his satisfaction at the sight.

I’m more likely to do detailed outlines at the beginning of a book. Once I’m immersed in the story I can usually segue from one scene to the next without pause. But I still jot down scene ideas that may come to me while driving, showering, just before going to sleep, etc. Sometimes my computer screen has so many sticky notes attached it looks as if it might fly away! It really hurts to lose a great idea that might have made my scene come alive for the reader.

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Since publishing her first book at age 27, New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jennifer Blake has gone on to write over 65 historical and contemporary novels in multiple genres. She brings the story-telling power and seductive passion of the South to her stories, reflecting her 8th-generation Louisiana heritage. Jennifer lives with her husband in northern Louisiana.

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