The Popping the Cherry tour bus is now at... Revisions & Editions

Crank the engine, it's time to get this tour bus on the road!

For the first stop on this global tour, I am visiting the lovely Nas Dean over at Revisions & Editions to talk about how I got started in writing, and to share my guide to plotting.

Read the article at: http://revisionseditions.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/aurelia-b-rowls-guide-on-plotting-and.html

Saddle Up! It's writing time again...

I was doing so well, resisting the need to write, but then I saw this call and the voices in my head just would not be quietened and I had to get back in the saddle.

As an experiment, I thought I'd document the creation of this manuscript and clue you in a bit to my thought processes but, be warned, it'll be pretty jumbled up. Obviously, I'm not a published author - yet - so this could all be a load of tosh. Even if it isn't, every writer works differently and you'll need to find what works for you. I'm usually more of a panster and let my plot evolve in stages but with the limited word count and submission deadline in mind, I'm trying something a little different to see how it goes.

The brief:

Write for Avon!

Would YOU like to write for Avon Books? We want to read YOUR romance novels and novellas! Submit to us today through www.avonimpulse.com and read on for specific submission requests from our editors. We’re always looking for the next heart-warming, blood-pumping romance, so even if your story doesn’t fit the below, submit to us! Need an story idea? Here’s what our editors are craving right now...

THE BABY IS A SECRET!
How could he not know? After all, he’s the father of a child…but he doesn’t, because it’s been kept a secret from him—sometimes for years. Now it’s your chance to put your own twist on the ever-popular, ever-perplexing ‘secret baby story.  We’re looking for short contemporary novellas, 20-25,000 words that will convince us that a baby really can be kept a secret!

Details:

• 20,000 – 25,000 words
• Sensuality level: from Moderate to super-sexy
• Contemporary
• Must be received by November 15th

Day one: Brainstorming

Okay, so I'm starting with a completely blank canvas and I have my notepad at the ready, turned to a blank page and ballpoint pen in hand. At first I considered the New Year theme, one of the other submission calls, and got the faintest idea of an opening moment of crisis by thinking about my heroine and what she was doing at the time. This is where it all gets a little bit scrambled!

Creating a feasible plot

I still can't quite get my head around it being March already and I haven't yet got stuck into chapter nine of my work in progress (WIP). Don't get me wrong, I'm still working on it but have gone right back to the beginning and have been editing it. Why you may ask?

Well, the more I got to know the characters, including an in-depth interview with each of them, the bigger their story became. What once started out as a 5,000 word short story, evolved into a 20,000 word novella and then 30,000 words. From there it grew to a 50,000 category romance but now, it's looking more like an 80,000 word novel.

I believe in theory that I have enough plot and conflict to fill that volume of words but I must consider the plotting and sequencing itself on the basis that each length novel would need a slightly different approach, e.g.: