Shannon Dittemore is the author of the Angel Eyes novels. She has an overactive imagination and a passion for truth. Her lifelong journey to combine the two is responsible for a stint at Portland Bible College, performances with local theater companies, and an affinity for mentoring teen writers. Since 2013, Shannon has taught mentoring tracks at a local school where she provides junior high and high school students with an introduction to writing and the publishing industry. For more about Shan, check out her website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
Last Friday, I took a step back from our Grow An Author series to share a bit about my experience at Mount Hermon. Thank you for allowing me that freedom, but today we get back on track.
If you’ve been following my Friday blogs, you’ll know that once I’ve got some idea of where I’m going with my story, I sit down and pen a working synopsis. This synopsis is used as a loose outline as I move through the drafting process.
Once the synopsis is written, I start to work my way through it. One paragraph at a time, I pick it apart and begin to come up with a list of scenes that will move me chronologically through the story. I keep this part of the process very bite-sized. I just want to be thinking four or five scenes ahead at any given time. Once I have those four or five scenes roughly sketched out, I settle in and I write.
And when I say “sketched out,” it’s a very rough idea I’m coming up with. Something like: Sarah steals Lenny’s cell phone.
Oftentimes, I use word sprints to turn these rough one-sentence ideas into a scene, but not always. Some scenes require a slower, more methodical pace of drafting, and some days I’m just not in the mood to hurry my way through. But the reality is there are many, many days that are only successful because I set a timer and force myself to write until it goes off. That’s just how I’m wired.
Focusing on one scene at a time helps me ensure several things about my story.
Each scene:
1. Must move the plot forward.
2. Must increase either the stakes (what’s at risk) or the tension (conflict, obstacles).
3. Should begin with a hook–something to grab the reader’s attention.
4. Should end with a revelation, reversal, or turning point–something to keep readers flipping pages.