When you've crossed the finish line on your sprint, you might want to take a look at Story Grid (Book and method by Shawn Coyne and heavily influenced by Robert McKee, but Shawn takes it deeper and outlines genres in a comprehensive way.) It might give you a lens for revision.
My problem with word counts and word count goals though is that the word count becomes the metric of success and if the story doesn't work in the end, you have to throw all those words away and it's painful. Having a good outline is key as you said but if the outline doesn't cover vital points in the story and each scene isn't planned in a way that moves the story forward, you create pits in the story that impact the scenes around it.
I've been studying Story Grid specifically for a couple years now and have derived a scene synopsis format for my outlines that touch on the important change elements in the scene. "Problem Sheets" give you things you can "go back and fix" but having a clear sight of what your story is about and how each scene drives the change in your protagonist and world works like a roadmap where you be confident that, when the words are on the page, any rewrites will be minor or at the individual scene level.
Here's what I use to describe my scenes:
[Protagonist] is [Status quo/response to previous resolution activity] but then [Inciting incident] and so the want [Object of Desire] without [OOD Trade-off] which makes them [initial strategy] until [Turning Point Complication]. So they [Climax Action], despite [Crisis trade-offs], which results in [Resolution]
And I add the Story Event, which is what happens in this scene that drives the story forward.
Viewing these together gives me a map of my plot.
The above also applies to the story at the global level.
And trust me, after all that, the words are the easy part.
Story grid has been on my list for a while, I have a similar structure I use based on all the books in the Elements of Fiction Writing series (esp Scene & Structure) but I suspect I could enhance it with Story Grid. Appreciate the reminder Justin!
No problem, Story patterns are story patterns so these systems tend to overlap. I have tons of materials on the subject if you find any gaps you can't seem to fill in. Story Grid can get a bit heady if you deep dive (especially once Shawn releases his two volume magnum opus "Story Grid 2.0" next year, then you'll wanna brush up on your Jung and Plato 😉) but the genre material is on point.
Thanks for another intriguing update, Nat. I like your take on social media, but what about the unknown beginner? How do you start to get your work known from zero without social media? This is what I worry about. I would also prefer to stay away from it, since I am prone to getting stuck there, especially mentally.
When you've crossed the finish line on your sprint, you might want to take a look at Story Grid (Book and method by Shawn Coyne and heavily influenced by Robert McKee, but Shawn takes it deeper and outlines genres in a comprehensive way.) It might give you a lens for revision.
My problem with word counts and word count goals though is that the word count becomes the metric of success and if the story doesn't work in the end, you have to throw all those words away and it's painful. Having a good outline is key as you said but if the outline doesn't cover vital points in the story and each scene isn't planned in a way that moves the story forward, you create pits in the story that impact the scenes around it.
I've been studying Story Grid specifically for a couple years now and have derived a scene synopsis format for my outlines that touch on the important change elements in the scene. "Problem Sheets" give you things you can "go back and fix" but having a clear sight of what your story is about and how each scene drives the change in your protagonist and world works like a roadmap where you be confident that, when the words are on the page, any rewrites will be minor or at the individual scene level.
Here's what I use to describe my scenes:
[Protagonist] is [Status quo/response to previous resolution activity] but then [Inciting incident] and so the want [Object of Desire] without [OOD Trade-off] which makes them [initial strategy] until [Turning Point Complication]. So they [Climax Action], despite [Crisis trade-offs], which results in [Resolution]
And I add the Story Event, which is what happens in this scene that drives the story forward.
Viewing these together gives me a map of my plot.
The above also applies to the story at the global level.
And trust me, after all that, the words are the easy part.
Story grid has been on my list for a while, I have a similar structure I use based on all the books in the Elements of Fiction Writing series (esp Scene & Structure) but I suspect I could enhance it with Story Grid. Appreciate the reminder Justin!
No problem, Story patterns are story patterns so these systems tend to overlap. I have tons of materials on the subject if you find any gaps you can't seem to fill in. Story Grid can get a bit heady if you deep dive (especially once Shawn releases his two volume magnum opus "Story Grid 2.0" next year, then you'll wanna brush up on your Jung and Plato 😉) but the genre material is on point.
Thanks for another intriguing update, Nat. I like your take on social media, but what about the unknown beginner? How do you start to get your work known from zero without social media? This is what I worry about. I would also prefer to stay away from it, since I am prone to getting stuck there, especially mentally.