aspiring writer Archives - Stacy Lyn Jensen

What Makes a Good Mystery Story?

investigation board with photos maps and cutouts showing connections

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I have discussed the basic elements of plot several times. Most plots have the ‘event’ that happens that causes the story to begin. Then, we have rising action, where the protagonist tries and fails to do the thing, and then we have the climax where the big confrontation happens, and then we have falling action, resolution or conclusion and then the end. If you can keep those things in mind, then you can write a good story. There are other things that make a story, right? Like, the ‘event’ at the beginning needs to be compelling enough to keep the reader engaged. The protagonist needs to have real stakes in the story, they can’t have just stubbed their toe. That’s not a reason for an adventure. Mysteries, however, are a whole other beast. Not only do they require to be a compelling plot with rising action, a climax and falling action, but they also need to have the mystery at the core that the reader should not be able to easily figure out. A mystery author needs to have the ability to keep their readers guessing the entire time. So that brings me to my question, what makes a good mystery story?

1-The Crime Must Be Interesting

Said another way, the crime that the protagonist is investigating should be something that the reader wants to understand. If it’s “who took my stapler,” maybe that will work, if all of the characters in the office are compelling and interesting and have reasons why they took the stapler. However, most readers of mysteries are used to murder being at the core of the story. If you don’t want to write about murder, then make the crime an interesting one. Make the characters (like I’ve already said) compelling, give them reasons why they could be guilty.

2-No One Should be too Innocent

Nothing is more upsetting to mystery readers than being able to pick the guilty person from the first chapters of the book. Or pages of the story, if it’s short. There should be some skeletons in everyone’s closet. There should be multiple possible killers or guilty parties.

If you are not a reader of mystery and you are looking to write in the genre, I would suggest that that is a bad idea, I don’t know if there is a finickier bunch of readers besides maybe sci-fi enthusiasts. If you don’t understand the tropes of the genre, or the things that have been overdone, then you aren’t going to be able to write a story that people are interested in reading.

3-There Should be Red Herrings, but not too Many

You should be able to write a story that leads readers in the wrong direction, but that also rewards careful readers. The point here is that you should use foreshadowing in such a way that when a reader gets to the end and finds out the who in the whodunit, they maybe are surprised, but they aren’t angry because they were tricked.

4-The Crime Should be at or Near the Beginning

Whatever mystery is occurring in your story, it should be right at, or near the beginning. This can happen as early as the prologue or in the first chapter. You can call the crime the ‘inciting incident’ if you want. For example in the Italian Job, the movie starts with a heist that goes wrong and one of the members of the group dies, while another one runs off with all the money.

Since that happens right at the beginning, the audience is hooked into the story and wants to get revenge along with the protagonist throughout the rest of the story. I don’t normally use movies as reference, but this one is a very easy to see example of what is meant when you’re putting the crime at the beginning. A book example would be in Cuckoo’s Calling, the very beginning of the book goes through a model dying by maybe jumping maybe falling off a balcony, and then it skips time to introduce the main character, a PI who the readers follow as he investigates the crime. In the book, the beginning leaves it ambiguous enough that the reader is unsure if the model jumps or is pushed.

5-There Should be Several Possible Suspects

We can’t have two, or three. I think at least four people that may or may not have done the crime is a good number. Just think, if you need to pick between two people, it’s a fifty-fifty chance, right? Put another person in there and it gets more interesting, but one more, and then it’s like okay…any one of these people has a reason to have done it.

I’m not saying they all need a lot of time, but well thought out reasons are good. Like, the person who was killed owed them money, or maybe there was an old grudge. Stuff like that.

6-The Victim Should be Interesting

The victim shouldn’t just be a victim. They should be a whole person. They should have an interesting life: friends, relatives, enemies. If they are an adult, they should have a job or a career. Maybe they are an addict, or they gambled. Interesting quirks or habits make them come to life (even though they aren’t alive in the book) and give you more to work with, as far as why someone didn’t want them to be alive anymore.

7-The Investigator Needs to be a Main Character

This happens in a lot of different ways. Maybe the person who is investigating is an amateur. Or maybe they are with an agency, or police, or a PI. But someone who is performing investigative work needs to be a main character. You could also have other main characters in the story. You could have the victim’s significant other, you could even do some POV from the person who committed the crime as long as you don’t give away who they are and spoil the ending for the readers. But mystery readers enjoy investigating along with the investigator, so knowing how the investigator thinks, or what they see that is unique and different from what other people see will help the story feel more “real” to the readers.

So that’s what I have so far. Let me know if you feel like there is something in the what makes good mystery story article that I missed.

Here is the list:

1- The mystery must be interesting

2-No one should be too innocent

3-There should be red herrings, but not too many

4-The crime should be at or near the beginning

5-There should be several possible suspects

6-The victim should be interesting

7-The investigator should be a main character

Writing Creatively Regularly

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I was texting with my brother the other day. We were discussing our creative endeavors. He was talking about how he hasn’t felt inspired to compose a new song (I’m not sure if compose is the right word when it’s not classical). I asked him if musical prompts are a thing and told him how writing prompts have helped me. That writing creatively regularly is so important, but sometimes reading is the only thing I can get done at the end of the day.

It got me thinking, what things help to write creatively regularly? What are the best tips? Here are a few of mine that I keep coming back to when i find myself in a rut, or so tired that I can only think about reading for a few minutes before bed.

1- Fast Fiction

Just write a paragraph (250 words). It’s like when you begin exercising, you don’t want to try and do a 10k if you’ve been sitting on the couch for a year; you need to start small. Or, if you just don’t have time. You can probably write a paragraph at the end of the day.

2- Writing prompts can be your friend

Not inspired? Grab a vague enough prompt that you can go anywhere with it. There is a subreddit for writing prompts. This website has some interesting generators about plots. I haven’t tried it, but it could be fun.

3- Journaling is writing too

Don’t have any ideas? You’re still living. Think your life is boring? Well, describe what is so boring about it in detail. What did you have for breakfast and lunch? Did you go to work and talk to boring co-workers? What did you talk about? What did you do when you got home? Did you walk your dog, play with your cat, feed your fish, or take a nap? Those are all things that you did and that you can write about. These writings are all practice. If you’re new to writing, it’s good to write about anything and everything.

4-It’s okay to write ‘bad’

If you have an idea, but you’re afraid it’s too “stupid” or “bad” or “overdone” or something, write it anyway. It’s okay to write the thing. It’s okay for it to be littered with errors, and it’s okay for it to be something that you don’t want to show anyone. You still wrote it; you did it. It’s also okay to be proud that you finished it when you finish.

5- I’m afraid that AI will eat my words

Me too, friend, me too. But the monster isn’t going anywhere. So the choices are either stop writing or just deal. I’ve decided to deal.

6- Write at the same time every day

I like to write after everything is wrapped up for the day. So, the kids have done their homework, gotten bathed, dinner has been made and eaten, etc. Some people have a morning preference. I find, for myself, that having writing to look forward to is good. But if you dread the task you can front-load it.

7- It doesn’t need to be special

One of the best tips that I’ve been given is that writing doesn’t need to be special. You don’t need a huge desk in the perfect light or the perfect pen, laptop, or program. You can write with a pen that’s almost out of ink onto a coffee filter, and the words will still have impact. If you are struggling to write because you need everything “just so,” let go of the idea that writing has to happen in a perfect world because all of us are imperfect with lives that are even more so.

8- What is your best tip?

Finally, do what works for you. What is your best “writing regularly” tip? I keep on getting into and then falling out of writing. And even though I preach about how important consistency is, I struggle to maintain it myself.

Book Review: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar, translated by Max Gladstone

Some people’ve reviewed This is How You Lose the Time War. I haven’t read any of the other reviews yet. The reason I picked this book up is because of a random Subreddit I found one day. Pictures are provided and then books suggested based on feelings. In this Subreddit, I found. “Pick me a book that feels like…”

No talking about relationships

First, I don’t want to talk about the main thing that I think people review. I don’t really want to discuss the relationship between the main characters. I think it’s poignant, and I think the point is that they never really get to “be” together, and I don’t have any other thoughts. Meant to be, it’s tragic. In this book review of This is How You Lose the Time War.

Well Described is Time Travel

Second, the main premise in the book: time travel. The time travel element was both fascinated and well-done. Also, I was able to picture the characters moving through time in a way that made sense to me. I appreciate the author for having the skill to write such a complicated topic in such a way that made it so easy to visualize.

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Writing letters

Third, and the thing I really want to talk about, is the epistolary element. I love this. I found myself rushing through pages, just waiting to get to the next letter to see what Red wrote to Blue or vice versa. By writing in this way, the author was able to lay out parts of the world that the characters would not have known on their own. Because they didn’t know much about each other’s societies, the letter writing gave them a look. This is a great way to world-build without stopping the story. In this way, the author was able to build tension while world-building.

Writers should read

This book is a good example of how to use epistolary elements in a story and why a writer would use this tactic. If you are an aspiring writer who’s interested in writing a story with back-and-forth correspondence between two or more characters. Then, I suggest reading this book. I could write all day about the many forms this type of writing can take on, but at the end of the day, what it comes down to. This fantastic book is a great example of epistolary writing.

Thanks! have a wonderful day! I hope you enjoyed my review of This is How You Lose the Time War

First Draft or The Blank Page

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I’ve talked about going to a webinar where the idea of doing a zero-draft was discussed. And I definitely still find the idea intriguing. However, first drafts are on my mind a lot lately. I feel like that’s where my life is at. I’m in a first draft stage.

What does that even mean? Well, as most writers are painfully aware, you have to write through that awful first draft before you can start editing and polishing. Recently, I made it through a master’s program, and I’m feeling very proud of myself on one hand; I’ve accomplished something. But, I’m now looking for a job in my field and facing a lot of unexpected free time.

I’ve written three drafts of my resume. Let’s just say that. I don’t even know if I’m past the first draft of my resume. So, on one side I’ve had this big accomplishment, but one the other I’m feeling very intimidated. I’m trying to get into a field I’ve never worked in before, and I don’t want to go back to my previous job because I felt very burnt out.

I keep on thinking about it like I’m on my first draft of this new life. I can’t say exactly what the final draft is going to look like, and all I have right now is potential. Which means that anything could happen, and on one hand, that is great. But on the other hand, I’m not the kind of person that is a fan of lasting uncertainty.

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Back to first drafts, the blank page. If you sit with the blank page and never write anything on it, nothing happens. Right? If I decide to never put in for a job in the field that I just got a degree in, no one is going to hire me. I’ll still have to pay back all the loans I took out, but I’ll never get anything out of that education.

Now, if we write the story; get that first draft down. We can go in and edit it and change it to be what we want it to look like. The glorious thing about writing is that it can always be redone. With my resumes, I can write several versions that emphasize different accomplishments. And that is the beauty of language. You can talk about customer service, communication, or cleaning at the same fast food job, depending on what kind of job you are looking for. You could even discuss fiscal responsibility, if you wanted. It’s all about how you present the information.

In a first draft, maybe you can only think about one character, maybe you can only see their perspective. But when you are going back through, you realize that another person needs to have their view in the mix as well. It’s completely something that you can do. You can add or subtract or completely re-vision the entire thing in subsequent drafts. The important part is getting past the blank page.

You have to start. I have to put myself out there in order for someone to hire me. Anyone that is writing, that has a story to tell, it’s okay if it’s crap. It’s okay if it’s cliché, just write and finish the story you need to tell and then look at it later. Also, don’t try to use AI for anything but some grammar help. It will take away your unique voice, that’s just my thought, but it’s another article for another day, I suppose.

If you’ve read this far, thank-you! If anyone else is looking for a job right now, I hope you find everything you are looking for in a role.

Also, if anyone is planning to do NaNoWriMo, let me know if you’d like me to post my progress every day. I know that the official site is not up, but I’d still like to write every day next month.

Found Footage Horror Books

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As an avid reader, watcher, and player of Horror over the past decade or so. The phenomenon of found footage horror books is not lost on me. I have enjoyed many of the genre and I find the idea of using found footage in a novel format to be interesting and, well, novel.

Let’s talk about the advantages of using this format.

Advantages of Found Footage Horror Books

In a novel, you don’t have to show everything visually. So you aren’t stuck with using the hokey “this footage was retrieved from…” There might be a journal entry, or an email. This can tell some parts of the story. These things really lend themselves well to storytelling.

Before tearing things apart, I do want to quickly remind everyone what the definition of horror is. These are books written to terrify readers. They are the kind of books that without a happy ending. They leave the reader with an uneasy feeling.

My favorite books in the Found Footage Horror Genre are:

House of Leaves

House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielewski: I’m pretty sure that this is the “classic” of the genre. I don’t know if there is another book out there that exemplifies that Found Footage Horror Book genre just quite the same way that House of Leaves does. It is a book that isn’t for everyone. It comes complete with pages that need to be turned upside down to read and footnotes.

A quick description of this book: There is a tattoo apprentice named Johnny. He is given a trunk by his friend. The trunk is from the friend’s neighbor’s house. It contains the writings of the neighbor. The writings are about this documentary about this man who moved his family into a house that was bigger on the inside than the outside. The story that unfolds is quite the ride.

Episode 13

Episode 13 by Craig DiLouie. This one is about the cast of one of those paranormal TV shows. The ones where the cast members go to haunted houses and “talk” to the ghosts at the location. This book is written as if it’s a screenplay. I listened to this one, so I can’t say what the book looks like. But, needless to say, the ending was very intense.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reed. I don’t know if this one counts in the Found Footage genre, but I’m going to count it. This book is fantastic. I haven’t seen the show. Throughout the first 3/4s of the book, the reader feels like they are in the head of the protagonist. It is only at the end when the reader is shown the truth.

Horrorstor

Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix: This one may not count as found footage, but I’m putting it here. There are these little epigraphs that show the reader parts of the catalog from the store. They give the book a feeling of found footage. Allowing the readers are able to almost interact with the store and see, via catalog entries, how it devolves as the story takes them deeper into the store.

Conclusion

The Found Footage Horror Book genre as a whole is hard to get right. There are many ways to fumble it. Sometimes things get too complicated, or too unbelievable, and then readers get lost. But when it’s done right, the book can be beautiful to read.

I believe that some techniques are applicable to any genre. “Found Footage” doesn’t have to refer to only horror, it can be any kind of book. I can see romance working well with little found items, or alternative history, or even sci-fi.

Is there a found footage horror novel book that you really like, or maybe one that I mentioned that you don’t like at all? Let me know! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!

Stormveil Castle

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Right now, I am around a level 40. I wanted to discuss a couple of things that happened between the Castle Morne experience and Stormveil Castle, but I feel like Stormveil ends up coloring everything else. I’ll try to go through everything.

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Before discussing Stormveil Castle

Irina’s Quest

First of all, I still get annoyed every time I think about going all the way through the Castle Morne quest, talking to Irina, delivering the letter to her father, and then she dies anyway? What kind of game is this, what kind of world is this, what is going on?

What is the Story of Elden Ring

Actually, to bring up another point. What is the Lands-Between? Is it Limbo? Are all the player characters dead, but have yet to be judged? Is that why religion plays such a large role in the game? The “lands between” is just such an interesting name. The fact that we are playing as a “tarnished.” What does tarnished mean, how did we get to be tarnished, what tarnished us? I know that all the big bosses are demi-gods. But why were they dead, and why do they now need to be killed?

What is the Lands-Between

Also, what are we doing for the world of the lands between? I’m hoping that these questions will be answered in gameplay. That the story will lay itself out for me to understand. Because right now, I feel like I could make up my own backstory for my character, how they came to be in this limbo, how they died why the lands between is in the state it’s in, and my own story would be just as valid as anyone else’s. However, I’ve heard that the story for the game is in the item descriptions?

So I may check out all the items I have and see what they have to say, what can I piece together. It is kind of intriguing to me to be placed in a game where the only bit of story that’s actually told is the very beginning. And I find it even more fascinating that a world-famous writer collaborated on this game, and there doesn’t really seem to be a scrap of actual story that I can find, so far. I wonder how may GRRM fans picked up the game, expecting political intrigue and to be told a story of a family or anything similar to his work, and then were disappointed when the game made them work for the story.

Stormveil Castle

Okay, I’m going to stop discussing my strange ruminations now. Onto Stormveil Castle.

I surprised myself by being able to beat Margit in one go. I didn’t expect to beat him on the first try and was shocked when it happened.

So when I went into Stormveil Castle, I thought that I was good. I figured I was going to be able to meet every challenge in the Castle, and it would be no problem.

Issues in Stormveil Castle

My first major issue was knight that is inside a door that gets shut behind you when you go in. It took me several tries to beat him. Then, after him, I missed a site of grace, so when I inevitably died, I was back at the outside of the castle again.

Then, the birds. The birds with the exploding barrels. I died to them so many times that my son started making fun of the sound of my character when she’s dying. But I kept on pushing. When I finally made it to the courtyard, I was able to sneak up the stairs and I didn’t have a huge problem with an area that was I really worried about going to.

The next thing that I didn’t realize I needed to be concerned about is the pots. I didn’t know how tough the big pots are when they start spinning. I didn’t die to any of them, but they were harder than I thought they would be to kill.

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Another section I went to was the under-part of the castle. I was able to kill the rats just fine, but there was this weird like serpent dragon thing that I died to like three times before I just ran past, and I was able to touch the bloodstain to move Rogier’s questline forward and just leave the area.

I did also kill a giant like a bunch. He was a lot easier to kill than I expected so I did it a bunch.

Beating Godrick the Grafted in Stormveil Castle

When I got to Godrick the Grafted, I did use the warrior princess lady for help, along with my own summon. I was able to beat him after three tries. The first try I got pretty close, the second one he killed me right away, and then the third one I beat him.

At this point, I haven’t played in a couple of days. But the thing is, I looked up where I’m supposed to take Godrick’s great rune, and I have to go back through Stormviel Castle, and I’m just dreading some of those areas. I’ll probably try it out this weekend.

Final Thoughts

I feel like I’m getting better at some things, but I do want to learn more faith magics. One other thing is that I need to find an outfit that will allow me to stand out in battle, because I will get confused as to who I am when I’m fighting.

Castle Morne in Elden Ring

black and white photo of arched door in a castle

I am currently sitting around level 34 or so. After I spoke with Kenneth Haight, I decided to go ahead and check out this Fort he needed to be cleared out. I struggled with that a bit, but I was able to get Fort Haight cleared, and I got half of a disc thing.

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Making my way to Castle Morne in Elden Ring

I then decided to travel down the Weeping Peninsula. I wasn’t ready to take on Stormveil Castle yet.

I enjoyed the area. First, I fought a demi-human in some ruins and got her staff. Then, I went up a tower or two. After that, I was able to finish out a catacomb and fight the boss. This area helped me feel like I was getting the game, I was doing better, I was handling the enemies. Feeling like things were going well.

Meeting Irina near Castle Morne in Elden Ring

As I got closer to Castle Morne, I met a girl with a blindfold on, her name was Irina. She asked me if I’d deliver a letter to her father. I agreed. I hoped that her father would come to her quickly.

When I first entered the Castle, I came across a gigantic pile of burned bodies, with a bunch of feathered demi-humans dancing on their corpses. The demi-humans were not difficult to fight, thanks to the wolf summons that I’ve been using. I was able to kill them after a few tries.

Inside Castle Morne in Elden Ring

After I went up a ladder, things got more difficult. There were some of the demi-humans flying, and I wasn’t sure how to do a jump attack. I just had to make due. I was able to fight my way through. Once, at the top, I found Irina’s father. But, then I remembered that I needed to fight the boss before delivering the letter.

I was very nervous about the boss, because I’d heard that they are the “first real boss” but then other people say it’s not the first real boss. So I wasn’t sure exactly what the difficulty level was going to be. I did summon, and it took two tries, but I got it done. I was very proud of myself. But then, when I went to go back through Castle Morne in Elden Ring to give the note to Irina’s dad, I died like four or five more times, so I guess it all worked out.

Fighting the Boss of Castle Morne

The boss for the area moved strangely, and I think that the best way to go is to be aggressive. I’m finding that that is the way to win fights, to be aggressive, don’t hang back, get in there and swing. I’m sure it’s not going to work with everything, and I’m still figuring out how to get away, but it’s working better than hanging back.

What’s Next

Right now, I need to work on figuring out if blocking is even for me, or if I just need to get better at rolling, and I need to get better at knowing when to use my Ash of War, my heavy attack, my light attack, or my spells.

So that was my adventure working my way through Castle Morne in Elden Ring, I’ll update to discuss Stormveil Castle, but it may be more than one post because it’s a big area, and I’m worried about getting through it in one piece.

NPC’s and a Dragon in Elden Ring

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I’m definitely still in the beginning of Elden Ring. I’m currently at level 34, still using a samurai character. The last few times I’ve played, I’ve essentially gone around, killed some skeletons and talked to a bunch of NPC’s and I killed a dragon.

NPC’s

I talked to a guy named Kenneth Haight (he wants me to go to some unspecified fort and take it back for him), a girl that gave me Jellyfish ashes, and a pot, and Blaidd (he wants me to let him know if I see a guy somewhere, I forgot his name though). I also went to the Roundtable place and talked with several people there.

Normally, I am a player of linear one-person type games. I prefer horror games. I like to be able to play “intensely” for a few days, or several weekends in a row or whatever, and then be done with the game. But, Elden Ring, and all the NPC’s that are in the game, and just the vastness of the world makes it so that the idea of being done after a couple of weeks even is impossible.

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Because I do play a different kind of game, normally, I think that this game may be one that I pick up and put down. One that I play while I’m in between other games, that kind of thing.

One thing, I know this has to be on the wiki or something, but how do I know what to do for each NPC? Like, I talk to a person, and then later I have something for them, but how and when do I know when I’ll have the thing. Does the game ever let me know, does it make the object for the NPC a different color or indicate somehow who or where that item should go?

Dragon

The other thing I’ve done recently is kill a dragon in Caelid. It was a dragon that was just sitting there, and it didn’t take anything from me but time. Now, I have a bunch of dragon hearts and stuff, but I don’t know where the dragon church is.

So right now in the game, I feel like I need to find the dragon church, and then the fort that the guy wants me to help him with. I know that Blaidd also will help or need help with something, but I don’t know what, exactly. I also would really like to get something that will allow me to use magic.

The Long Way: An argument for not taking shortcuts

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I think we’ve all come across a million videos about a shortcut for better bread, or a worksheet to help you outline in ten minutes. I was thinking about this last night, and it occurred to me that no one is arguing for the long way. So, I’m gonna do it. Here you go, an argument for not taking shortcuts.

When was the last time you read an inspirational sports story? Did it talk about the athlete–who has achieved so much in their life. That they decided to call it quits every day a couple of hours early; and how they didn’t show up sometimes? Or did it talk about their shortcuts? No, these stories are always about the amazing perseverance, grit, and endurance the athlete has to reach their amazing level of success.

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Author or Hobby Writer

The long way

When you think about your writing goals, are you the kind of person that is looking for a quick fix to put a bandage on a problem for the moment? Or, are you the type of person that is looking to master your craft? The difference in these two ideas is really the difference between the author or the hobby writer.

Mindset Differences: The long way

A person with an author mindset. When faced with setbacks on their writing journey; they will for solutions. For example, if they are mentally exhausted and cannot imagine writing to their 1000 word goal. They may decrease the goal for a time. So, instead of writing 1000, they are writing 200. This may not allow for fast progress. But it will be progress.

A hobby writer may decide to stop writing for a while, or maybe they’ll see if they can find some tips and tricks to help them. But since the writing is a hobby, it’s not that big of a deal if they decide to stop for a while.

Rejection differences

When facing negative feedback, or rejection, there is going to be a difference in mindset between the author and the hobby writer as well. When receiving negative feedback, and author will take some time to process and then look back at their work to see if the thing makes the piece stronger. It’s also possible, when faced with several pieces of feedback from different sources, they may sort through them to find the ones that work best with their overall goals.

A hobby writer may find feedback to be a difficult and painful process, they may feel personally attacked or ridiculed. It is not that an author doesn’t feel these feelings. It’s simply that the author can put them aside in order to make their work stronger. The same basic things happen with rejection. The author can take it as part of the process and then move onward. The hobby writer will have a hard time with rejection, and take it as a rejection of themselves as a person.

Finishing a Draft: The Long Way

Once the author has finished a rough draft, they will put it away, and then start the revision, re-writing process after some time has passed, and they have gained some distance from the work. A hobby writer, once they have finished a draft, they may be so excited to revise that they start right away, or they may want to start querying/submitting, or they may even self-publish right away.

Everyone starts somewhere. Everyone wants to use shortcuts/has used shortcuts. The difference between a hobby writer and an author is time, experience, and mindset. It is perfectly fine to be a hobby writer. It is perfectly fine to be an author or aspiring author. My point here is that the long way around is normally the best way to get to where you want to be.

There are no shortcuts for writing and reading. Is there a time when you couldn’t hit your writing goals? What did you set them at so that they felt attainable?

stacyadmin

Rewrite: Pancaking

pancakes on plate — Photo by NastyaSensei on Pexels.com

I recently finished a draft of my current work. I also changed computers and am not sure how to get my word processing program to work on my new one. Because I don’t want to worry too much about the draft I had. I knew it was full of problems.I’m going to be rewriting.

Awhile back, I went to a very small writer’s conference (I don’t know if it would really qualify) in my town. One of the classes there was about doing “pancake” drafts. Essentially, you do a full re-write with each draft.

grayscale photography of person holding pen — Photo by Todoran Bogdan on Pexels.com

While I don’t want to re-write my project more than once. I will be completely writing the story over now.

Reasons for Doing a Pancake rewrite

I have a couple of reasons for wanting to rewrite the story instead of revise. They are:

One of my main characters is lacking motivation. In order to fix that, I need to change a bunch of stuff.
Sometimes, my characters are just talking, it’s a little boring. I think that I can make those parts more active.
My antagonist needs a better reason to act.
I’m thinking of pulling a POV character, and possibly changing the POV completely.

The idea of a pancake draft is you completely put away your previous draft. Meaning, you aren’t looking at the last draft. You aren’t checking on how things are working out from draft to draft. You are simply going to write again. The nice thing about doing it this way, is that you already wrote the story. You know how it goes; you are just ironing out the kinks.

I would suggest not using a pancake draft if you have a really nice draft that doesn’t have large problems that need fixing. I would also suggest doing it with caution, because writing an entire draft is a lot of work.

Finally, I decided to do a draft this way, not only because I wanted to try it out. But, because I feel like my work has some good things. It has many problems and will benefit from a full rewrite. Let me know if you’ve ever done a pancake draft. If so, what did you think of it? Did you feel like your next draft was stronger?

Stacy Jensen

Stacy has a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in Human Resources Management from USU and is currently working on her masters in Learning Experience Design. When she’s not busy with school or her home life, she loves reading all things horror and sci-fi fantasy, and writing, writing, writing.