Outlining

Okay, one last thing. I was having a rough time outlining my novel, since I'm used to being a "pantser" and making things up as I go rather than plotting things out ahead of time.

But outlining the fanfiction was easy. At first, I started by writing out the events in the film that I wanted to cover. Then I realized that I was parroting the actual film too much... fanfiction is supposed to bring something new, right? So I started expanding things... and I started seeing the beauty of the outline. It was much easier knowing what to add in where, because I could see how it would add up in the bigger picture.

For example... there's a scene where an uncle gets very angry at his nephew for many complicated reasons, but the one he vocalizes is that the kid is drawing when he's supposed to be doing something else. Cue a much earlier scene I added in that explains why his artwork is so very upsetting.

Seeing the whole picture helped me think through what elements and themes were needed to tie together into the great whole.

Tl:dr version.... Outlining my fanfiction is converting me to outlining in general, and giving me insight into how to outline my novel better. I think for some of it, I need to work backwards. Begin with the end game in mind, and think through what would need to happen in the beginning to raise the stakes.

Hayley often quotes the Fantasy Fiction Writing Formula, a how-to book she loves, that you have to write a million words before you can be a good writer. This fanfic may be silly, but it does count towards million words, and I'm already learning a lot from the process. And, getting into the healthy habit of writing every day without stressing about it too much. The amazing thing is, I'm reasonably happy with my work, even though it's certainly rough and unpolished.

Growth all around. :)

PS: I'm up to 5 readers now. Yep, it's literally just a handful, but man... does that have me jazzed!