Holly Lisle: Writer

Today it’s notecards

I need at least 55 sentences written on notecards, one per, that I can spread out on the floor and look at and put into various orders to see if I can find some surprises and some coolness in the story.

Some stories just flow — they don’t require this approach. This, being more of a forced march, is going to need all the tricks I’ve stored in my armory. So I won’t actually be at the keyboard for most of the rest of the day. Just wanted to check in, say, “Yeah, I’m working, it’s going hard,” and then slink off to deal out the future of my novel with a pack of index cards.

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4 responses to “Today it’s notecards”

  1. Jon Avatar
    Jon

    Thanks! I’ll take a look. Much appreciated, and good luck!

    -Jon

    Reply
  2. Holly Lisle Avatar
    Holly Lisle

    > Could you elaborate a little on the
    > "notecard" approach? Or do you have
    > a column somewhere where you talk
    > about it?

    The following class transcript — One-Sentence Scenes, Scene Testing and More — goes over developing and using one-sentence scenes as a plotting method. By using this method, and putting each one-sentence scene on its own index card, you can move the story around until you have maximum conflict, tension, and get the best cliffhangers.

    I don’t use this method every time, but I do use it frequently.

    Reply
  3. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    Happy dance sent your way!

    Reply
  4. Jon Avatar
    Jon

    Could you elaborate a little on the "notecard" approach? Or do you have a column somewhere where you talk about it?

    If you don’t have time, I completely understand :o)

    -Jon

    Reply

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