More on Cutting Lexeon

Somebody sent me an e-mail asking if I had a spreadsheet in the story. No, it's a way of organizing the story. I made five columns. Chapter, Scene within the chapter, Location, Main Character involved, description. I read through each chapter rather quickly, and filled out the spreadsheet. I printed it off and highlighted things on it that caught my eye. Then I pulled the story up in Word.

You never modify source. I promptly saved the new version before removing things. Now I didn't do it with the individual chapters I created when I wrote the story. I had the whole story in front of me, allowing group searches after I was done. I would highlight a section and cut/paste it to a new file. Save, and repeat. This method can save you rereading the entire story (which would take time). And it'll help you if you don't have an outline to send to the agent.

Now what is ironic is that I used a similar process when I was writing the story. I created a table in Word, filled in plot/story elements under the appropriate heading, and crossed them off as I wrote. Only the last chapter (set several years later) did not use this. Now if I can just find that table....

Lexeon is really the first story I outlined. I hadn't before because I relied upon my subconscious to plot things out. But Lexeon was too complex a book for that. And I discovered that when I got stuck on Lexeon I had something upon which to fall back. That wasn't the case with the other stories.

Note to self: outline.

I already have for the next Gina Stone story. I know "who done it", I know the concrete steps to get there, and I know and have outlined most of the plot thread. I just don't know the details; though I know that the plot thread might/will change as I write the story. And that is an important point. Your outline is a guideline. It is mutable. It can and must change as the story dictates. The broad outlines won't, but down on the lower levels it will.

Do I grow a story in my head before outlining? Do I know most of the details? No. I know roughly who did it, and what modern technique Gina is going to use (and teach) to solve the case. I don't know how the inter-time portal will work as a plot element (in Different World they visit a Bavarian town besieged by the French and defended by the Bavarians and the angle-Dutch army during the War of the Spanish Succession -- roughly August of 1704). That remains to be seen. But it has to be important, otherwise why have it?

I've already revised the outline of Different World twice, and I expect I'll do it again. It has to do with the nature of the portal, of which more anon at a later date.

Writer's Group tomorrow night! Yippee!