So I’m definitely a planner, not a panster. I imagine the rush of writing a story with no idea how it might end is a fabulous one, but for the most incredible procrastinator in the world (me, I have a medal and everything) I just can’t do it. I get lazy, I sit about playing video games waiting for inspiration to hit. I hardly ever get hit with inspiration. Inspiration is a wanker.
Anyway, with Scrivener gently prodding me to get my outlines and sketches done and placing them in a nice organised way so I can see them and feel like I’m all accomplished, my planning is almost done. And praise the sun for that since there’s a little under a week left before midnight hits and I have to actually write a novel (holy shit).
Although I don’t always stick to it, the Snowflake Method is the best for helping me get into the zone when it comes to an outline for a story. For anyone who doesn’t know about Randy Ingermanson and his teachings (and novels!) I urge you to click this little link right here and check it out. As per the first two stages of the method, here are my one sentence summary and the extended paragraph:
The novel is called Sentience, a sci-fi novel targeted towards young adult readers:
Sentience
A Games Master for a virtual world used to help cure anything from cancer to addiction finds herself trapped when a new patient’s traumatic memories cause the system to fail.
In 2067 the use of Virtual Reality to help treat illness is a pioneering and expensive technology. Newly out of the experimental stages, a single health provider holds the monopoly over the technique… and the price tag. From heroin addicts looking for an easy withdrawal, to transplant patients seeking to escape from the suffering of a waiting list, patients with enough credit are welcomed with open arms. For Kate Stannard, dealing with their ‘inworld’ requests is the most exciting her work ever gets, until a new patient is placed in her care. Following an accident, down on his luck Michael Redmond is entered into the system without his knowledge. A decision that will not only change the program but Kate’s life forever as she finds herself trapped inside other people’s memories.
Although it can be a pain in the arse sometimes, I always feel this great sense of relief after completing these first stages in my planning. It’s like the idea becomes fixed, solid and real. It makes me focused and a bit more confident. Of course that confidence will have dwindled into mist by the time April 1st gets here. And then I’ll just weep all over the keyboard for a while hoping some of the splashes fall hard enough to type out a decent sentence. Yep.
So anyone else want to share their summaries/synopsis? Who am I cheering for? Can we have a group hug?
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The Robotic Hermit 
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