Say hello to this week’s guest blogger, Joan Ramirez, who tells us how she plots her novels…
I’m a great believer in exercise as stimulus for writing a novel. While doing yoga, I tune into my inner psyche to think about my protagonist and how I will introduce her to the reader in the first pages of my story.
My mind is always going regarding her height,weight, facial expressions, her career goals, and personality and how all of this meshes with the plot line.
I do the same thing while on the treadmill at the gym, only there I’m more focused on action scenes. While I’m trying to figure out how to get my heroine out of a dangerous situation, I increase the speed. Then, I think, well, I don’t have much
time to find a “way out.”
Once I’ve resolved this often challenging issue, which has been outlined extensively but I’m visual so I need to see her in action, I slow down the speed to focus on other plot aspects.
I walk a lot. This is when I map out the entire book in my mind and order the chapters.
By the end of the week, I know where I’m going and feel healthier for it.
One bad feature of all this exercise: When I lay my head on the pillow, my mind is still thinking through scenes so I often have trouble falling into a deeper sleep.
Joan is an author/teacher/novelist with four published books as well as short online mystery stories. She is currently seeking representation for her historical suspense with romance and psychological thriller. She is a member of the NYC chapter of
Romance Writers of America.
Secret Desires by JL Regen
available on Amazon.com and B&N. com
Status: Up for a Readers Choice award for best contemporary novel