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P is for Professionalism (and a blog fest!)

My plan for the A - Z Challenge is to write every post as if it were a diary entry by a character from my WIP. Today's post comes from Radleigh McCoy.

**


I've gotten into a lot of trouble because, sometimes, Richard doesn't think I am professional enough. I think that's bullshit. Okay, occasionally I break the rules of the game, but it happens in the heat of the moment, when I'm trying to get that ball in the net so we can win. And maybe sometimes I yell at the ref because he made a bad decision, but it's passion. I don't want to be sent off the field because he made a bad call and ruined the match for the team.

I'm late for training sometimes too, but that's usually only when a hot woman has kept me awake all night. Heh.

Most of the time, I am professional. I'm professional because I love soccer. There's nothing else I would ever want to do. My dad was one of the best in his day, and he taught me everything I know. Not about rule breaking, that makes him crazy, but he taught me how to play the game. If I have any professionalism in me at all, it's because of him.


**

Next, I signed up to Madeleine Maddocks' Plotter or Pantser blogfest!

Here's what we do:
 
Post your tips and secrets on how you plot your novels. Even if you are a Pantser rather than a Plotter, there must be some methods you follow when writing your stories. Or you can post about any aspect of plotting. 
How do you Plot your novels?



Okay. Well, I am a total pantser. I usually begin every story with characters and a very, very loose outline. I have tried planning in the past, but I found that it makes me feel stifled, like I am bound to those rules I created. I know it's not true, but nevertheless, I don't feel free when I have a plan. 


I guess I like to write the way I read. I turn each page, knowing what the story is about, but not quite knowing what will happen next. My characters usually tell me what to do, and I'm okay with that! :D

Comments

  1. I'm definitely a plotter! Oh, yeah! I plan out everything except for details. That all comes to me in the writing process. Once I have it all down, I'll play with the story to see where it takes me. It's a very organic process I go through whenever I write anything! :)

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    1. LOL! Quite often, the way I work is different depending on the project, but for the most part, I am a pantser. :D

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  2. I sort of love Radleigh in this entry. He's his usual arse like self, talking about breaking the rules and making Richard mad, but then goes onto talk about his dad and the admiration is clear. I can't help but slightly feel for a guy who has so much obvious respect for his father.

    Oh, the Plotter or Pantser blogfest looks interesting. Thanks for the tip, I'm hopping over there now!

    And for someone who claims they're a pantser you're doing excellently so far! :D

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    1. There is something about family that makes Radleigh a little softer, though admitting it isn't easy. He doesn't want to damage his macho reputation!

      Lol thanks chick!

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  3. I likelier term for not planning! I also totally get this methodology! I usually outline in reverse, for things I have already written, so I can keep a clear understanding of what I've already built to keep building. Don't know if that eliminates me from being a pantser

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    1. Hmm, it does sound a little more plotty than pantsy, but that's okay! I secretly wish I was better at plotting!

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  4. I like Radleigh's admiration for his dad too. Nice entry!

    I'm a pantser. Even if I try to plot, it never works. The story takes me where it wants to take me and I love it.

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    1. Thanks!

      Yes! I love how many people are confessing to being pantsers!

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  5. I'm definitely a pantser too. I've tried to plan in the past, but I never got very far. I love learning about my characters and their world as I write.

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  6. Im a plotter. Sometimes its a bad thing tho. I'd like to veer off the written plan but have a hard time doing it. Oh the OCD! Help! lol

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    1. Lol, plotting is good, especially for more complex stories. :)

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  7. my imagination is off and running as soon as an idea hits - Im running hard trying to keep my pants up...

    I like this character; you portray his shortcomings well

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  8. That's totally how I write too! I can't outline it all becasue then I feel like I'm ruining the magic of writing and where is the fun in that?

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    1. Agreed! I like the way I do things, it's more interesting when I don't entirely know where a story is going!

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  9. I guess if I had to label myself I would be a pantser, like you. I don't like rules or boxing myself in. If I composed an outline, it would be a colossal waste of time because I'd wind up blowing it off in a hot minute. LOL

    I like Radleigh's diary entry. Your characters are always so believable and real.

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    1. LOL, yes that's how I feel too!

      Thanks so much!

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  10. Oh, I love the idea behind the blogfest. I'm going to see if I have room in my schedule and try it.

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  11. This post goes deeper into the character - it's giving a much more rounded personality, and showing his 'sensitive' side!

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    1. Yeah, he's not ALL bad. But mostly, he's a male chauvinist pig lol!

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  12. I do a mini-outline. I wouldn't even call it that. lol So, I'm a pantser. I do write some scenes out so I remember them before I start writing, but most of the time I just sit down and write. ;)

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  13. A professional soccer player with a bit of a naughty streak. Sounds good to me!

    I'm a plotter in terms of the arc of the story but the conversations between characters usually take on a life of their own.

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    1. Hee hee!

      I try to plot out the story arc, but I never, ever stick to it lol.

      Delete
  14. What a cad! I love him already :)

    I'm a pantser. But after all the fixing I've had to do since writing my from the hip nano, I may join the reformed community. My fav author - JRR Tolkien - was a pantser. In a letter to a friend, he wrote, "I know more knew who Aragorn was than Frodo did." Loved that :)

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  15. I *really* like your voice, Kyra. It's entertaining and makes for a quick read. Verrrry fun! :D

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    1. Thank you! I like to keep things simple and entertaining, if possible lol!

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  16. Yes, he's sensitive for his age and mind-set! :-)

    A writing teacher once asked me if I would want my home built by a plotter or a pantser. She was of the opinion that if you did not know where you were going, your novel would wander frustratingly all over the place for the reader. I am a bit of both a plotter and pantser though. LOL. Roland

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  17. I don't do detailed outlines either. I need that wiggle room, too.

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  18. I find I'm plotting more and more with each book. Soon I'll have the whole book 'jotted down' in my notebook!

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  19. Knew McCoy would be a little cocky!

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  20. Great prose once again!

    And I will have to check out that blogfest. I'm a total pantser with the plotting going on behind the scenes, in my head. I'd love to plot more, but that will come with time... maybe :)

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  21. I used to be a pantser, but now I plot. I found that for me, it saves heaps of time in the revision stage.

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  22. Nice to show a different side to Radleigh. He wants to live up to the example shown by his dad, quite sweet.

    I'm a mixture but leaning more to the pantsing side. I need an outline to start off because it helps me clarify my thoughts, but once the story gets going I refer to it less, and what I write tends to up being pretty different!

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  23. I'm a plotter. I need structure when writing, especially as the rest of my life functions under chaos.

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  24. I read a book on plotting once, but it was too difficult for me to figure out how to outline the story when I didn't know how it would end (or even how it would begin yet). But I will admit that sometimes I write character sketches, which is a tip I picked up from one of the other writing books that I read. It helps to jot down little details like what the characters like to eat or what their secret dreams are, because I can use those details in my story.

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  25. I like your comparison of plotting like you read. I tend to do that, too.

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  26. Yup, I write the same way you do. I go in with a basic idea of what my main plots are (usually... Defenders is seeming to prove the exception to this rule) and then I kind of wing it from there. It's a little of both, I guess. I definitely can't do detailed outlines. I feel too constrained.

    Love the diary entry too. It's nice to see a bit of a different side of Radleigh.

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  27. Radleigh can spell professionalism!

    I'm in shock!

    ^_^

    /Wes

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  28. "I turn each page, knowing what the story is about, but not quite knowing what will happen next."

    Ah! I like that a lot. That's how I write, too. I know the premise. I know the basic shape of the story. I know the beginning and the end, but the characters have many surprises for me along the way -- and I'm just a passenger on their journey.

    Nice to meet you via Madeleine's blog fest!

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  29. Radleigh sounds quite defensive here, doesn't he? Always a sign of a guilty conscience :)

    I adore plotting, but frequently veer "off course" once the story takes off. I guess I'm a Plontser. :)

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