I’d forgotten how good index cards are at untangling stories. I’ve got a fair chunk of a new novel written – around 15,000 words – and it’s still feeling formless. Often, I don’t feel like I’m making any progress on a story unless I’m actually typing away, and that serves me pretty well when I’m writing something particularly plotty. I kind of work it out as I go, putting down key scenes and so on.
But this new book, as opposed to the one I’ve just finished, is a little looser. There are key elements and themes, but I’m still working out how they connect.
Index cards are a useful way of looking at a book (at least the book as I currently intend/hope it to be) as whole and asking questions about it without tripping up on the sentences. Basically, not so much locking in a structure, but looking at structural possibilities.
Without going into detail, I always knew this was going to be a difficult book to write, but I don’t want it to be a dreadfully difficult book to read.
I think I’m slowly finding my way.
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On a lighter note.
Brent Wilson and I will be at the Brisbane Writers’ Festival talking about how we made Mr Impoppable. It's going to be a lot of fun.
You can book here.