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Taking a step back – so I can move forward

I’ve been floundering. That is, I write some, take it out, write some more… I can’t tell if I’m really getting where I want to go. I have a very clear vision of what I want this story to do, how it affects my characters and how they struggle and finally triumph over the odds stacked against them. But I how do I get from here to there?

One option – just jump ahead and write the scenes I have playing in my head. Later on I can stitch them together. I may try that, but first I think I need an actual roadmap. And for that, I’ve decided to work with a beat sheet.

There are lots of beat sheets, which define where specific plot elements need to fall in the story. A good summary of what beat sheets are and a collection of downloadable beat sheets is available from Jami Gold, who has an awesome writing blog and did a post on beat sheets. I’m taking time this week to step back from writing to lay out the plot points on my own beat sheet, so then I can forge ahead. Thanks, Jami.