What’s next?

I get asked all the time, “I wrote a book. What do I do next?”

The very first thing I ask is, “Is the story finished? Have you written The End yet? Or are you still writing?”

I usually get the answer that they’re still writing. So my first bit of ‘What’s next’ advice is to finish the book.

If it’s a done book, then I ask if it’s all in the order they want. If they’re happy with it. And to roughly fix it if not.

Then my next bit of advice is to write a brief sentence what each scene/chapter is about. Put it in list form. This is one of mine. I write mine as I write the book. It helps me see the book in one glance and is a good place to write changes (in red). I was still working on the book at the time of this photo, so it wasn’t complete yet.

From this completed storyline/chapterline synopsis, I can do anything. I can see what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes I need to move chapters. Sometimes take them out all together. I can also check what day the particular scene takes place on, the weather of that day, too. It helps me pick up details I’ve missed.

I know I’ve talked about this before, but this is how you get the depth in your story, by being able to look at it all at once. By not being able to miss anything.

And this is where I am right now with Denizen. Making changes to my storyline based on my earlier notes. Moving chapters. Fixing dropped subplots.

As for Sly Third, I’m still writing.