So, as those of you who follow my facebook author page probably know, I’ve had some setbacks with this next book (the third in the Black Earth series). Twice now I’ve gone back to rework the plotline. This second time the reworking is rather significant. I’m changing the entire trajectory of the story.
I’d just like to explain a bit. This (massive changes to the plot) doesn’t happen to me very often. Actually, it hasn’t happened in over a decade, well before I was published. I think I know the reason. Or one reason.
I used a new plotting system this time around. The Snowflake Method. I’m not making a value judgment about it one way or the other. For me, it had a serious advantage: I constructed my initial plot outline with it in about one month, which is about 1/3 as long as it normally takes for a novel.
But now I’m seeing a pretty big flaw (again, from my perspective) — the plot the method helped me to construct is not the story I really want to tell. It’s sound at first glance, with all the elements a book needs. But as I started the actual writing, the outline felt stale and stilted.
So, I’m starting over. Never fear, I don’t think it will push back the book’s release much at all. At least, I hope not. I won’t know until I’ve got a complete first draft, and that’s a long way off.
But thanks for reading. Wish me luck.
–Jon
