It's that time of book again . . . .

[swan_tower]

. . . when I cover my living room floor in paper.



That's the entirety of Part One, laid out in itty-bitty type and no margins, so I can stare at it and see the whole shape at once.

It's a bit depressing, seeing it shrunk that small. Though I take some satisfaction in knowing I had to stand on the couch to get a good picture of it all.

I also have index cards. And the beginnings of a soundtrack. I don't outline, but I do sometimes convert the book to spatial or musical representation, the better to think about how it all fits together.

Comments

[j-cheney.livejournal.com]

Is this an effort to judge chapter length? Plot pacing? (I shrink mine to 10% on the monitor to do the first, but use the outline for the second...)

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

A whole mess of things, both of those included. Also balance between different characters' povs, and an easy way to glance and see how scenes interlock, etc.