When I decided to write a novel about Devon Day and the Sweetwater Kid, I had to come up with a convincing plot. Here are some of the steps I took in planning for that novel.<\/p>\n
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\n- The main idea. I knew that I wanted to show off their outlaw skills, and to use those same skills in solving the mystery. Since I\u2019d already decided to show them robbing a train, I had to come up with a scenario where they\u2019d need to use the same sort of set-up. I wanted their first case to be relatively easy for them, with the main focus being the formation of the Kye-Chance-Stone team. I had several possible plots in mind, from stealing back some sort of vital document to kidnapping a criminal to return him to justice. I settled on a rather tame case, with a runaway heiress, as a suitable first attempt.<\/li>\n
- Plotting. Once I had my basic idea, I did a rough outline to see what I wanted to happen over the course of the story, At this point, I didn\u2019t put in many specifics, just tried to get the lads from their meeting with Stone to the conclusion of the case.<\/li>\n
- The first draft. My first draft is always more like free-writing. I just sit down and let the words flow. Some of it is going to be crap and have to be cut, but I get the basic ideas down before I worry about editing.<\/li>\n
- Edits. Once I had a complete manuscript, I had to worry about editing. Since this is my first novel, I thought it would be worth the money to use a professional editor, and I think that was the right decision. She pointed out several spots that just weren\u2019t working out, and made a few really good suggestions on how to fix them.<\/li>\n
- The second draft. While I waited for the editor to read and comment, I worked on the first draft, looking for things like repeated phrases, \u201cmovie lines\u201d (head nods and other such movements more common on a script than in a novel), and slow spots. I tried to ramp up the tension and conflict, especially between the main three characters.<\/li>\n
- The third draft. That\u2019s the one I\u2019m working on now. Following some of the editor\u2019s suggestions, I\u2019ve dropped the sub-plot I had in the first two drafts, which I admit was more boring than the main case. I\u2019m adding several chapters from the point of view of their friend Emily Sharp. I\u2019ve also thought of a few complications that I hadn\u2019t imagined at first, things to further increase tension in the slower middle part of the book.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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I\u2019ll keep you posted on my progress as I work on what I hope will be the final draft of the novel. What are your experiences? How many edits do you usually run through before you really feel the book is ready?<\/p>\n