Rani Divine's Blog

Hey everyone! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! Have you missed me? I hope you’ve been following me over at Art of Divine, on YouTube—I have some really fun content in the works, and I’m planning a series for all you writers out there, coming up shortly. The world needs more writers, don’t you think?
So today, I wanted to come back and talk to you about something I think is incredibly important for writers, and generally fairly underrated for authors as well.
Organization
Now, I’ll start by saying this. The majority of successful authors I know are organized people. Yes, there are always outliers. There are always people who somehow work better and think clearer when everything is a mess, but don’t think that just because those outliers exist, you must automatically be one of them, just because you’re not very organized. More than likely, you’re a part of the majority and not the minority. That’s just logical, isn’t it? So, while you should always take advice with a grain of salt, remember to take it with an open mind, as well. If you don’t have that, no one will ever be able to help you with anything.
Authors need to be organized.
I don’t just mean that we should be organized in our writing, though that’s where we’ll get to later on in today’s post. I mean that your lifestyle should be organized. You’ll need a strict budget, especially if you’re planning on self-publishing. You’ll need to know precisely how much time you can take away from your day job, before you hopefully get to make writing your full-time gig. But, if you’re aware (as you should be) that it may never happen, that you’ll always need that day job, then you’ll know that you just need to be organized. You need to know how to allocate funds toward book tours, ad spend, cover design, and so many more things—even if you’re going to traditionally publish, expect that you’ll have to pay at least a little bit out of pocket, early on. At the very least, you’ll have to take some days off in order to tour with your book. There’s no other way to go about it.
If you want to be successful, you need to organize your life.
That’s a fact, and one you can ask any successful business person, or business owner. They’ll tell you, without batting an eye, that organization is a requirement. Without it, you’re throwing both time and money out the window.
Remember, whether you’re self-publishing or not, being an author is being a business person. Your writing is your business, and you need to treat it as such.
My recommendation, for every writer, is to get organized before you get published. Start with your life in general, because if you can get your life organized, your writing will get organized more naturally, by default. So put your stuff away. Don’t leave things lying around. Clean out your closet. Do the dishes. Organize your pantry so you can find and easily access the things you use the most often. Decide where the mail should go when it comes in the house, and make sure it stays there until it gets dealt with. Pay the bills on time (or early!). Get yourself organized, because if you can’t do that, you won’t get your writing organized either. If you can’t do it with the little things, you won’t do it with your writing. Trust me, I’ve seen it over and over again, with writers who haven’t decided if they take writing seriously.
It needs to start with your lifestyle, because your lifestyle determines how all the pieces fall.
So get organized, before you get published; that way, your writing isn’t a mess by the time you send out query letters. You don’t need it to be a mess, when you finally get signed. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that’s the last thing you need.
And once your life is organized, you can start with your writing.
Unless you’re a Neanderthal, you’re writing on a computer (or at least having it compiled onto one). So name all your files, and name them with things you won’t forget. Be descriptive. Use folders to get everything hyper-organized. One folder for each project, and folders within that folder for all the little things that go with that project. Go over the top with it! There’s nothing wrong with having your files so organized that an idiot could plop down on your computer and find what they’re looking for. In fact, that’s a good thing! You want it idiot proof, in case you need someone else to go on your computer and get a file for you. And for goodness sake, please backup your files. No, not on a cloud. Those expire, and they’re not confidential. Get yourself an external hard drive and some flash drives. Back it up. Multiple times. And update those backups at least once a week.
Trust me. Once you’ve lost files, you’ll understand how important it is to backup your writing. I don’t want you to experience that—so please, just back it up.
Okay, so now your life is organized, the kitchen is clean, and you’ve organized and backed up the files on your computer. What’s next? An organization.
Beforeyou publish, file for a business and open a bank account for it. Yeah, it’ll cost you a little bit of money, but not much. And the paperwork is easy, trust me. Create a business, and use that business as the signee, when you do get a publisher. Why? Because that way, any lawsuits that come up won’t be against you, but against your business. That way, your copyright is owned by an entity, not a person. And this way, you can keep yourself even more organized when it comes to the bills. All your royalties go into that account. All your ad spend comes out of that account. You pay yourself a portion, once you’re making enough that you can, but for the most part, it’s an account that’s separate from your personal money, so you don’t spend your personal funds on your writing. Sure, you’ll throw some of your own money in it early on, but you want this to be a business, remember? So it’ll need to have its own revenue, and be able to sustain itself. Don’t worry, if you get an agent, they’ll be able to help you with a lot of this. But I highly recommend keeping your funds separate, both for legal and personal reasons.
And, last but not least, we have what you all expected me to talk about from the start:
Organize your story, before you start writing. Get your ideas together, write them down, and organize them. Clear your head. Think on it. Don’t be afraid to start and stop and start again a few times, if you’re not sure how the story is turning out.
You know me. I’m a seat-of-your-pants, deer-in-the-headlights kind of writer. I’m not one to do too much organization before I sit down and write a story. But I will be the first person to tell you that when you do have an idea that involves a lot of little ideas that you’re not sure you’ll be able to remember… you need to write them down! Write it all down. Use Scrivener, and keep it all organized with the files for your actual writing. Keep the ideas from getting lost, by getting them outside your head—where things can actually be organized.
If that means sleeping with a paper and pencil beside you… well, shouldn’t you be doing that anyway? ;)
[love]
{Rani Divine}
p.s. Have a topic you’d like me to cover? Leave a comment and let me know!

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! This month, we’re talking all about change, specifically changes both personally and professionally, in my life. And this week’s topic really isn’t one I wanted to do. But you know what? It was bound to happen sometime.
I have a YouTube channel. It’s called Art of Divine, and I’ve been creating videos there for a couple months, at this point. Videos that I’ve been having a lot of fun with. Videos that have made me realize I’m not sure what the future is here, in TMBTC, when I have YouTube Channel too. I know, I know, I’ve been here for years and it’s been a lot of fun, but video is the "in" thing, and honestly, I’m enjoying it. That’s not something I ever thought I’d say, either.
So today’s announcement, today’s change, is that I’ll be phasing out blog posts, by the end of the year. Maybe sooner, we’ll see. Point is, these are the last days of Too Many Books to Count. And if you want to keep keeping up with me, you’ll just have to follow me on Facebook and Instagram, and subscribe to my YouTube channel. Trust me, if you like what I do here, you’ll love what I’m doing in Art of Divine.
There, so far, I’ve recorded a few vlog-style videos, videos where I’ve talked about life, about what’s going on with RAD Writing and what to expect from me in the future, videos where I’ve spent some time talking about belly dance (which you all know I love), and even videos where I break down paintings I’ve done at paint night.
It's fun. It’s artsy. And it’s a creative channel that I’m hoping will bring me better success and more joy. Don’t get me wrong; I love the blog. I love writing in here, for all of you. And I’ll probably keep the page up, keep it open, so I can post in here from time to time as well. But YouTube is where I’ll be, primarily.
One video a week, for now. Maybe more, eventually. We’ll see how it goes.
Again, thank you all so much for supporting me through all these changes. Thank you for being there, for reading what I’m writing. I hope you’ll stick around, and watch me on YouTube, too.
You’re awesome.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hey guys! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. This month, as you know, we’re talking about change—new things coming up for yours truly, both personally and professionally. Lately though, it’s all been professional… so let’s talk personal today, shall we?
I finally have my own office! My own place to work from home, and it isn’t even in my bedroom. Goals, guys. Seriously. I’ve never had my own office before. It’s crazy.
And with the new office came all sorts of new things I’m doing. Really. All sorts of things. As of a few weeks ago, I’ve begun jewelry making. Mostly chain mail, though I’ve also been dabbling with wire wrapping as well. It’s a difficult thing, when you can’t go to the store and get supplies. Sheesh. It’ll be nice when we can all get out again, eh?
Anyway, I like doing things with my hands. Sometimes I think better, clear my brain better, when I’m doing something like that. So chain weaving really fit the bill. I should’ve posted some pictures on Instagram by now, so feel free to head over there and check it out! If I haven't posted anything there yet... I'm sorry. It's been on my list of things to do. Really.
I’m also learning to sew… though I’d say that’s been more dabbling than actual learning, so far. I’ve not had time to do a whole lot, partially because weaving chain takes a lot of time and once I get going I just can’t stop. But I am learning to sew, and I’m planning on making my own custom belly dance costumes (with matching jewelry, more than likely).
I’ve done a little bit of cross-stitch too, since the quarantine started. Not a lot, but I did a little one for my best friend, and she absolutely loved it. I’ll try to remember to put that on Insta, too.
I’m still painting, still dabbling in learning to draw, still dancing at every available opportunity…
And really, that’s what I wanted to say, today. During all this, during the chaos that has been this quarantine, art has been the one constant, hasn’t it? Art is the one thing almost everyone turned to, because art is the one thing we know we can fall back to, a place of safety and comfort, of simple joy and fun. And I’ve really been embracing that, in a time when I know I could easily have been panicking. But I didn’t want to panic. I’m not a panic person. I’m a doer. Who couldn’t do much, work-wise, and needed something else to do.
Art, it is!
I’ve started a new story, one many of you have been hounding me to write (no, I won’t tell you what it is yet), and so far I love it. I’ve really been throwing myself at my art, and I’m loving every minute of it.
To the point that I'm even offering commemorative pendants, chain woven by yours truly, to some of those who help with the crowdfund of Cayau: People Among Us. 
My moral today? Don’t let go of creativity. Embrace it. Hone it. Learn something from it. Because there’s a lot to learn from the arts, if you give it a try.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hi everyone! Welcome back to TooMany Books to Count���I���m so glad you stopped by. As we talked about lastweek, this month I���m spending some time telling you all about the changescoming up for me, both personally and professionally. And I���m starting with themost important ones.
Which is where today���s topic comesin.
Cayau: People Among Us ��� Now on Kickstarter!
There was one thing that wasreally breaking my heart, when I received contract termination notices from RADWriting, when the company decided to break up. My beloved series, my DruidNovels, was supposed to release its finale, this year. This was meant to be theyear that you all finally got to read how the story ends. This was supposed tobe the year that we all said goodbye to the druids��� and now that wasn���t goingto happen.
I spent a long time, talking withthe rest of the RAD Writing team and coming up with every idea under the sun,until we settled on this one. Crowdfunding.
If you���ve never heard of crowdfunding��� well, where have you been? ;-) It���s a project where we���re asking for money frompatrons, in exchange for a copy of the book (plus some other goodies, of course). It���s where we���reasking a pledge from you, to allow us to finalize the interior of the book, printit, and file a copyright. That���s what all the money is going toward. 
Here's how it works:
Click Here to go over to our Kickstarter Campaign, where the crowdfund for Cayau is now available. Pick your tier, and go ahead and pledge. You won't be charged unless we meet our goal.
Once we���ve reached our goal, Kickstarter will collect payment from you, and we���ll get the ball rolling. We���ll finalize theinterior of the book and send it to our printer. We���ll file for a copyright oncethose copies are printed. And then, once we have the copies in our warehouse,we���ll start shipping them out���to everyone who helped crowdfund.
I���ll also be throwing in somegoodies, with every crowdfund order of Cayau ��� and yes, these will be personalgifts, from me. They might be stickers I���ve designed or candy I like. Theymight be jewelry I���ve made (more on that, next week!) or one of my favoritepens. I have all sorts of ideas! But the tier you pledge will determine how many gifts you get ���and I���ll have a video up on my YouTube channel this Friday, with more information about the pledge tiers!

Ready to pledge? Click Here! 
If you want to hear me actually talk about this, look me up on YouTube! I'm at Art of Divine, and I've got a video all about it.
Any questions? Leave a comment orsend me a message! I���m ready and waiting to tell you everything I can. Promise.
[love]
{RaniDivine}

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Too Many Books to Count—I’m so glad you stopped by. As we talked about last week, this month I’m spending some time telling you all about the changes coming up for me, both personally and professionally. And I’m starting with the most important ones.
Which is where today’s topic comes in.
Cayau: People Among Us – Now on Kickstarter!
There was one thing that was really breaking my heart, when I received contract termination notices from RAD Writing, when the company decided to break up. My beloved series, my Druid Novels, was supposed to release its finale, this year. This was meant to be the year that you all finally got to read how the story ends. This was supposed to be the year that we all said goodbye to the druids… and now that wasn’t going to happen.
I spent a long time, talking with the rest of the RAD Writing team and coming up with every idea under the sun, until we settled on this one. Crowdfunding.
If you’ve never heard of crowdfunding… well, where have you been? ;-) It’s a project where we’re asking for money from patrons, in exchange for a copy of the book (plus some other goodies, of course). It’s where we’re asking a pledge from you, to allow us to finalize the interior of the book, print it, and file a copyright. That’s what all the money is going toward. 
Here's how it works:
Click Here to go over to our Kickstarter Campaign, where the crowdfund for Cayau is now available. Pick your tier, and go ahead and pledge. You won't be charged unless we meet our goal.
Once we’ve reached our goal, Kickstarter will collect payment from you, and we’ll get the ball rolling. We’ll finalize the interior of the book and send it to our printer. We’ll file for a copyright once those copies are printed. And then, once we have the copies in our warehouse, we’ll start shipping them out—to everyone who helped crowdfund.
I’ll also be throwing in some goodies, with every crowdfund order of Cayau – and yes, these will be personal gifts, from me. They might be stickers I’ve designed or candy I like. They might be jewelry I’ve made (more on that, next week!) or one of my favorite pens. I have all sorts of ideas! But the tier you pledge will determine how many gifts you get – and I’ll have a video up on my YouTube channel this Friday, with more information about the pledge tiers!

Ready to pledge? Click Here! 
If you want to hear me actually talk about this, look me up on YouTube! I'm at Art of Divine, and I've got a video all about it.
Any questions? Leave a comment or send me a message! I’m ready and waiting to tell you everything I can. Promise.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hi guys, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. This month, what with it being a season of change for literally everyone, I wanted to take a few weeks to tell you about all the changes coming for me, both personally and professionally.
First thing’s first:
RAD Writing is closing its doors.
I’m sure that’s as much a shock to you as it was to me, when I found out. And I’m also sure that by now, some of you have already heard this news. But RAD is trying to make their closing as quiet and dignified as possible, so aside from some major sales online, you probably won’t see much from them, on the subject.
The fact of the matter is, the company is coming to a close, and is currently in the process of terminating the publishing contracts of all their active authors.
Including me.
So, by the end of the year, I’ll no longer be a published author with RAD Writing. In fact, I don’t know that I’ll be a published author at all.
That’s probably been the thing that’s taken the longest for me to come to terms with. But I’ve known about this for over a month now, I’ve known this was happening, and I have had time to come to terms with it. I’ve had time to prepare, to come up with a plan for my future, and to apply for new positions. And then the quarantining happened. So all of those plans are currently on hold. I’m still plugging away on those plans, in any way I can, but with so many industries completely shut down… it’s hard.
In any case, I wanted you all to know exactly what’s going on.
If you’ve been to RAD Writing’s website in the past couple weeks, you’ll have noticed some changes. The submissions pages are no longer accessible, the blog and podcasts are gone, and everything is, well, different. And it’s going to stay that way.
What you should know, for now, is that if you do want copies of my books and haven’t yet had the time or money to go purchase them, this is your final chance. The copies still in stock at RAD Writing are the copies that I couldn’t purchase myself, copies that I couldn’t afford to buy from the publisher. And they’re on sale, at cost, until stock runs out. 
So if you haven’t gotten them yet, now’s your chance.
And you have no idea how strange that is to say. My books won’t be on the market much longer, at least for now. And no, I can’t say honestly that I know what the future holds, but I can promise you that I won’t stop writing, and that I will explore publishing options for the future. I’d prefer a traditional publisher, you know. And I’m sure I’ll find one.
I’ll also keep you posted, every step of the way.

Lastly, I just want to say thank you. Thank you, to all of you who’ve supported me over the years. Thank you, for being a part of my writing journey. And thank you, for staying with me as the journey continues—in a way I don’t think any of us expected.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m glad you stopped by. This month, as you’ll well know by now, we’re talking about writing by the seat of your pants—and how that even works, to begin with. It’s something I’m often asked, if I’m honest, probably because there are a lot of people out there who think there’s only one way to write, and that’s to outline. Well, those people are wrong, and I’m here to tell you all about the way I write—by the seat of my pants.
By now, we’ve gotten a fair way into our stories. So if you haven’t been checking into the blog as often as you should, be sure to click back and check out the rest of the series!
Today?
Seat of Your Pants: The restart
I questioned whether or not I should include this part, in the series. It was questionable, because it doesn’t always happen. Sure, it will inevitably happen to everyone who writes this way, as it will probably happen to everyone who outlines, but it doesn’t haveto happen, and it definitely doesn’t happen every time.
But because it does happen, it’s something that I thought you should know about, too.
If you’re a seat of your pants writer, then I’m sure you already know: we start over. When things just aren’t going right, when the story is crumbling in all the wrong directions and nothing seems to be going the way we meant, when we lose the connection we once had with the story, when there’s just no spark in it anymore, nothing to keep us linked to it like we once were… we start over.
Sometimes we restart the same story, other times we start on something altogether new. It varies, from case to case, and changes depending on the reason why we’re restarting, but if you’re wanting to try writing by the seat of your pants, then you should know. At some point, you will have to restart a story. And it’s okay, when you do.
See, the thing that you have to understand, is that writers who write like a deer in the headlights, who write by the seat of their pants, are incredibly accustomed to what you might think of as failure. Only, we don’t think of it that way. If we had to start over, it doesn’t mean we failed. It just means we probably didn’t go about writing the story the way we were supposed to. We’ll try again, and hopefully we’ll get it right that time.
And sure, it can be frustrating at times. Sometimes we struggle with it, a lot, but it always comes down to that: the story has to be written the right way, or else it just won’t work out, and we’ll have to start over again.
Eventually, you get better at spotting the times when you’ll have to start over, from earlier on in the writing process. Trust me. You will.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by, because today… I have something important to tell you. But that’ll have to wait until the end.
For now, today, we’re ending our series on writing by the seat of your pants. All month long, we’ve been talking about what it’s like to write without an outline, and why it’s so different from writing with an outline. We’ve talked about how we start a story, how we continue and conceptualize a story, and even how we occasionally restart a story. And today, we’ll talk about the end. How to finish, you might say.
Seat of Your Pants: Just keep swimming
This, I think, is the hardest part, for people who don’t write in this method. The thing that you must remember to do, no matter what, is to keep swimming. Keep going. Keep pushing. Keep writing. And eventually you’ll reach the end of the story. I’ll admit that sometimes I even outline, when I come near to the end—but that’s not very often. More likely, I just keep writing. And that’s what you should do, too.
That’s what we all do, when we write in this method. When you write by the seat of your pants, eventually, you’ll get it right. You won’t have to restart your story. Everything will flow, just the way you want it too. And then, if you just keep going, you’ll reach the end. You’ll get to the end, and you’ll experience that rush of coming to the end of your story.
You just keep swimming. Because that’s what you have to do. Because that’s what you want to do. Because that’s what you’re called to do.



Which brings me to the important part…
There’s a change coming, for me. It’s nearly here, really. Very nearly. Because my books, all of them, are about to be pulled off the market. All of them. Every single one. The babies that I’ve worked on for the last decade, the books that I’ve cherished and loved for so long… they won’t be available again, for a long while.
RAD Writing is closing its doors.
That’s something I never thought I would say, ever. I thought I would work there for the rest of my life, that I would enjoy working with them for years upon years to come. And instead… I find myself suddenly staring at a Google search for book agents. Because as you all know, I really don’t want to self-publish again. I would much rather be traditionally published.
So that’s what I’ll be working toward. And I’ll be sure to keep you all in the loop, along the way. I promise.
I’m starting a YouTube channel, called Art of Divine, if you want to keep a better eye on what I’m doing and what’s going on. And I’m not sure what else to tell you, except that my books will be highly discounted online until RAD Writing runs out of stock, so if you’d like a copy while they’re still available, now’s the time to get them.
I am also considering printing a few copies of Cayau, personally, for my biggest fans, my friends, and my family. So if that’s something you’re interested in, then please send me a message on Facebook, and we’ll talk further. :)
I’m surprised. As surprised as you all, I’m sure.
But I’ll just keep swimming. Because I’m a seat of your pants writer, and that’s what I do.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hi everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by! All month long, we’re talking about writing by the seat of your pants—primarily because I’ve been asked these questions more times than I can count, and I thought answering them in here might be the best way to go about it. This way, I can point you all back to the blog, if you have these questions in the future. ;-)
So far in our series, we’ve come up with our idea and we’ve just barely started writing, just enough that we have our concept figured out and know what our world looks like (particularly if we’re writing sci-fi, fantasy, or an otherworldly genre of that nature)—and if you’ve missed any of it, I highly recommend that you click over there and check out the prior posts!
Today? We’re really getting the ball rolling.
Seat of Your Pants: The start
Obviously, once you’ve gotten your idea, started rolling with it, and conceptualized everything, the next step is just to write. But I think this is the part that a lot of people struggle to understand, which is why I wanted to take this entire post to talk about it. If you’ve ever written, or if you took any writing courses in the past, then you’ve probably outlined. So you’re used to having a map, a direction in which to go, and you have an idea of what you’re really writing. But if you’re like me, you might have struggled with it, along the way. If you’re anything like me, then you maybe even wrote your stories, outlined them after, and pretended that wasn’t what you did.
But I think that’s beside the point.
For seat of your pants writers, really, we just start writing. We start from the spot where we think the story begins, and just go. I know a great many authors who stop writing in the middle of a scene, so they can jump right back into it when they come back—and this is an extremely useful tip, if you want to try writing like this. Whatever it takes, really, to make sure the story still goes.
Why? Because it’s easier to let your book go by the wayside, when you don’t have an outline to keep you going, and sometimes we get off track and need to make little ways to get ourselves back on it.
For me, chapter maps are a useful venture, and a great way to keep me on pace while I’m writing. It’s a little like an outline, only without really being an outline at all, and without my ever really sticking to them, in the end. Which probably sounds useless, but hey, it works for me so I’ll keep using it.
A chapter map is where I’ll sit down and “decide” how many scenes I’d like, in the chapter I’m about to write. I usually start with four, and build up or down from there. I use Scrivener, so I make a file for each one of those scenes, and I write a little blurb of what information I’d like to cover in that scene—because at this point, my head is usually farther ahead than my hands. So I’ll write down what needs to happen in this chapter, guesstimating how many words I think each scene will be (since I like my chapters to be equal in length), and then I’ll sit down to write the chapter.
But like I said, those chapter maps are really… they’re iffy, as to whether I follow them or not. Usually, the information I want to convey will be conveyed, but I don’t generally write it the way I originally thought I would.
I know, confusing, but it makes sense to me, and that’s what matters. If you hate chapter maps, don’t use them. If you hate outlines, don’t use them. But if you love both, by all means, use both! Find what works for you, and use it—just make sure you write, if you’re going to write.
[love]
{Rani Divine}

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Too Many Books to Count! I’m so glad you stopped by. If you were here last week, then you know we’re talking about writing by the seat of your pants. We’re talking… how on earth do you write a story without an outline? And we’re talking about this because of the vast number of times I’ve been asked these questions. I guess people think all writers outline their stories? I don’t know, but whatever the case, I thought we’d take the month to discuss how I write, and how, in general, seat of your pants writers, write.
Last week, we talked about getting an idea and rolling with it—and if you’re curious what that’s like, be sure to go back and check out last week’s post!
This week, the tale continues…
Seat of Your Pants: The conceptualization
Now that we’ve gotten our idea and started playing with it, we have to move forward with the story. Obvious, no?
I don’t know if all seat of your pants writers do this part. I really don’t. But it’s what I do, and it makes the most sense to me, so let’s discuss. Now that I have my idea, now that I’ve rolled with it a bit and know what I’m doing, what I’m talking about, and have a little idea of the story I’m setting out to write, I’ll take some time and write down my concept.
It's not outlining, don’t worry.
During this time, what I’m trying to do is flesh things out and get my ducks in a row, so I don’t have two characters who give conflicting information about the world in general. Oh, and by this time, I’ve probably written between 16,000-50,000 words. That’s only a few chapters, for me. I know, I write really long stories… I’m not sorry.
Anyway, what I do during the conceptualization phase is that I’ll write down all the information I now know about the world in which I’m writing, and I’ll make a file of it so I can refer back to these things as I continue writing my story.
It’s in this phase that I really decide what things look like, where things are, and sometimes I’ll even set down a little bit of the history of the story, so I have it for future reference. This becomes very useful for me when I get past the 50,000 word point, which is why I always make sure to do this before I reach that word count.
In the conceptualization phrase, I try to immerse myself in my world, as I know it at that point. I immerse myself within it, and I discover what it’s like, from every angle, to live inside this world. I need to know what it’s like to live here, what people think and act like, and what I can expect from the future of my story.
For some authors, I’m sure that’s something you’d like to do sooner. Especially if you’re an outliner, I’m sure you can’t even imagine what it’s like to not really conceptualize until you’re this far into your story—but you know what? We all do what we have to do, in order to get the stories out of our noggins.
Next week, we’ll really get going!
[love]
{Rani Divine}