tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post2265671358804375028..comments2024-03-25T09:56:16.164+00:00Comments on An Awfully Big Blog Adventure: How did *that* happen? - Anne RooneyUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-71772982324239733092012-06-06T21:14:15.910+01:002012-06-06T21:14:15.910+01:00Huh! Even with a plan, some characters just barge ...Huh! Even with a plan, some characters just barge in and do whatever the hell they like...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09186725193473313269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-11072674637438582792012-05-31T10:19:17.131+01:002012-05-31T10:19:17.131+01:00Savita, I wrote the first draft in 11 days - it wa...Savita, I wrote the first draft in 11 days - it was on day 3 that I wrote the totally unexpected event that came from nowhere. Writing a whole novel in three days *would* be impressive!Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-11017686267003512332012-05-30T20:43:26.335+01:002012-05-30T20:43:26.335+01:00Maybe I need to re-read 'The Little Friend'...Maybe I need to re-read 'The Little Friend'. I didn't quite get it. 'The Secret History' is a big favorite, though. <br /><br />With 'The Little Friend', I seem to recall not being sure about the childishness of the narrator...? She was the way a child imagines she'll be (brave, adventurous etc) rather than the way a child is.Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-69259819670485294042012-05-30T17:34:21.586+01:002012-05-30T17:34:21.586+01:00I'm with you, Anne, I'm not a planner, whi...I'm with you, Anne, I'm not a planner, which can lead me down all sorts of roads and forks, with a few pitfalls and trolls thrown in. You wrote the first draft in 3 days? I'm in awe!<br />Nick, I like my murder/detective stories to have a resolution - I can't bear not knowing. I loved Secret History, but far less so The Little Friend.Savita Kalhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07977368691995933130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-41347477401323080362012-05-30T14:41:20.412+01:002012-05-30T14:41:20.412+01:00Phew! It was wonderful to read this post. I have t...Phew! It was wonderful to read this post. I have tried to plan but fail miserably. Like you I have a general idea what is going to happen and in what direction the story is going in with the odd incident in my notes. But I am often surprised by where my writing takes me. As you say a character can come in and change everything. I love your idea of walking up and down a river bank looking for a bridge. I find the bridge often appears when you least expect it. Thank you Anne you have made me feel so much better about my own writing process. You are a star!!Ness Harbourhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07370427313780759711noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-85869391729178455362012-05-30T14:34:24.981+01:002012-05-30T14:34:24.981+01:00That's a really good idea, Kath - the detectiv...That's a really good idea, Kath - the detective story with no resolution of the murder. I was going to say someone should do that, but then I realised that Donna Tartt already has, in The Little Friend. (That shouldn't actually spoil it for anyone).Nick Greenhttp://www.nickgreenbooks.webeden.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-14668993915109070392012-05-30T13:14:13.276+01:002012-05-30T13:14:13.276+01:00Well, I guess it would be a detective story, Kath,...Well, I guess it would be a detective story, Kath, just not one with any successful detecting.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-65942313555137833062012-05-30T12:16:01.812+01:002012-05-30T12:16:01.812+01:00Sounds excellent! And no, I don't plan very m...Sounds excellent! And no, I don't plan very much - not in detail, although the current book is so complicated I had to do more planning than usual: but most of it is back story and background. I do find that if you're careful with all that, serendipitous events do happen. <br /><br />I could never write a detective story. Or if I did, we might never discover who the murderer was. Which after all does happen in life... so it would become a novel with a murder in it, not a detective story after all.Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-81439419162482676812012-05-30T11:11:22.333+01:002012-05-30T11:11:22.333+01:00I plan. Which can be boring and take forever. Th...I plan. Which can be boring and take forever. Then I write something completely different. Then I have to go back and try and make it work.<br /><br />I think it's the least efficient method possible!Emma Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02718171070716804800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-80471253381672211102012-05-30T10:32:06.872+01:002012-05-30T10:32:06.872+01:00Yes, Nick, I'm happy to get on a random plane,...Yes, Nick, I'm happy to get on a random plane, too! Perhaps I am just lazy - planning is BORING; I would rather spend the time DOING.Stroppy Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16560035800075465845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-53330971628779497002012-05-30T10:21:46.084+01:002012-05-30T10:21:46.084+01:00This is really amusing to me. The awe that you exp...This is really amusing to me. The awe that you express for those who plan, I feel for those who can just splurge. I plan obsessively, in minute detail, and even if the end product bears only passing resemblence to the plan, it's vital for me to have SOMETHING mapped out that looks like it works... then at least I have a fall-back if nothing better comes along in the writing process (though it usually does).<br /><br />I can't even conceive of writing a book without a plan. Can't imagine it; and of course it is my job to imagine some pretty wild things. It just goes to show how differently peoples' minds work. I could no more write a book without a plan than I could get on a random plane and call it a holiday. But I know some people do (and they probably have more exciting holidays).Nick Greenhttp://www.nickgreenbooks.webeden.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-17315533248660735302012-05-30T09:01:31.906+01:002012-05-30T09:01:31.906+01:00"The first time through - well, it's all ..."The first time through - well, it's all a bit of a splurge."<br /><br />That's the perfect way of putting it - fun yet chaotic and ever so slightly wasteful. And I share your respect for those who plan. I plan too, but it's after the splurging, not before.Joan Lennonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15763862159032836768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7780182174577095197.post-12543506177296465862012-05-30T08:44:52.440+01:002012-05-30T08:44:52.440+01:00But then you have the fact that the bridge may now...But then you have the fact that the bridge may now be leading to a quite different road? And that while you had a plot hazily in your mind for two characters, a third marches in - although not a troll - who really messes up the two-some dynamics?<br /><br />Interesting it is, certainly. Annoying, occasionally.Penny Dolanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16386668303428008498noreply@blogger.com