cedar_grove (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cedar_grove) wrote2008-11-04 04:42 pm
cedar_grove) wrote2008-11-04 04:42 pm
Entry tags:
From Titles to Outline - and the Posting Timeline...
So... Here is the second part in the short series of journal posts that delve into my writer's mind to show the process I go through when writing, and posting, the series of stories.
Yesterday I posted about the inspirational spark that lead to the creation of the series, and that, after a while I ended up with a series of words, or phrases, that each held the germ of an idea for a story. The next step was to write a short paragraph that would encapsulate each of those ideas and to type those paragraphs into a table in word, so that I ended up with my memory joggeres (because episode 20 is a way down the line).
I ended up with something that looked a bit like this...
Okay, maybe that wasn't fair... let me try that again. *evil grin*
Those of you that have been following the story series so far will already notice and incongruency between the outline here, and the title... and that, on two of those boxes, there's some text in red. This represents a change of heart that I had in respect of the order, and the way in which I wanted that second part of the story arc told. So instead of In Truth... Freedom, followed by Mantle, followed by Enmity, the order of ITF and Enmity have been switched around. This made it necessary to change a few things about the way the stories were going to be written, and that's represented in the red text. Hey - Spikey! Sit back, no trying to decipher the text, or I blur the next one - I can do that you know. *grin*
So here's where we get story specific in order to follow the rest of the process...
The Summary and Tagline
The next thing that happens is that I write a blurb/summary for the Episode, which then gets posted, along with the banner image, on the website. The summary is written from the short paragraph combined with the idea I have in my head for major scenes that will be included in that episode. For Mantle our example story, the summary reads as follows.
The conflict escalates between the Wraith, Michael's army, and the Atlantis expedition. The stakes have never been higher for any of them, nor the price of failure more costly. Teyla must fight to find her way to the truth, while others find the truth concealed from them, and two powerful enemies come to blows when one is forced to assume the mantle of the other.
I also come up with a 'tagline' to subtitle the story. The subtitle for Mantle is simply, Knowledge is Power
Creating the Banner Images
I take the summary, the ideas, and everything I hope to put into the story, and try to visualise what might visually sum up the contents of the story. Next I find images and screen captures to blend together, ghosting and cloning images one over the other to give myself a base with which to work. I take cropped images of 4 sections of the image before anything else to use as the 'keys' to the different acts of the story. Then working with the whole image I add the wording, and a border, until I end up with a large banner, which is then resized to 2 different dimensions to be used in different places on the website. The smallest (pictured below) is used on the Atlantis Home Page and lives beside the summary. The middle sized one gets used on that story's page, and the original, as the header for each act of the story.
Posting Timeline
Usually, The new banner image is posted to the website along side Coming Soon once I begin writing the story before, i.e. Mantle's banner was posted when I began to write Enmity. As soon as I start to write a story, the summary goes up onto the website beside the banner, and I create the story's own page. Sounds a lot, but it helps to keep me motivated and my muse active... it keeps the stories coming.
Coming up tomorrow - Writing the Walkthrough... how the summary, and outline become a detailed plot walkthrough.
Yesterday I posted about the inspirational spark that lead to the creation of the series, and that, after a while I ended up with a series of words, or phrases, that each held the germ of an idea for a story. The next step was to write a short paragraph that would encapsulate each of those ideas and to type those paragraphs into a table in word, so that I ended up with my memory joggeres (because episode 20 is a way down the line).
I ended up with something that looked a bit like this...
Okay, maybe that wasn't fair... let me try that again. *evil grin*
Those of you that have been following the story series so far will already notice and incongruency between the outline here, and the title... and that, on two of those boxes, there's some text in red. This represents a change of heart that I had in respect of the order, and the way in which I wanted that second part of the story arc told. So instead of In Truth... Freedom, followed by Mantle, followed by Enmity, the order of ITF and Enmity have been switched around. This made it necessary to change a few things about the way the stories were going to be written, and that's represented in the red text. Hey - Spikey! Sit back, no trying to decipher the text, or I blur the next one - I can do that you know. *grin*
So here's where we get story specific in order to follow the rest of the process...
The Summary and Tagline
The next thing that happens is that I write a blurb/summary for the Episode, which then gets posted, along with the banner image, on the website. The summary is written from the short paragraph combined with the idea I have in my head for major scenes that will be included in that episode. For Mantle our example story, the summary reads as follows.
The conflict escalates between the Wraith, Michael's army, and the Atlantis expedition. The stakes have never been higher for any of them, nor the price of failure more costly. Teyla must fight to find her way to the truth, while others find the truth concealed from them, and two powerful enemies come to blows when one is forced to assume the mantle of the other.
I also come up with a 'tagline' to subtitle the story. The subtitle for Mantle is simply, Knowledge is Power
Creating the Banner Images
I take the summary, the ideas, and everything I hope to put into the story, and try to visualise what might visually sum up the contents of the story. Next I find images and screen captures to blend together, ghosting and cloning images one over the other to give myself a base with which to work. I take cropped images of 4 sections of the image before anything else to use as the 'keys' to the different acts of the story. Then working with the whole image I add the wording, and a border, until I end up with a large banner, which is then resized to 2 different dimensions to be used in different places on the website. The smallest (pictured below) is used on the Atlantis Home Page and lives beside the summary. The middle sized one gets used on that story's page, and the original, as the header for each act of the story.
Posting Timeline
Usually, The new banner image is posted to the website along side Coming Soon once I begin writing the story before, i.e. Mantle's banner was posted when I began to write Enmity. As soon as I start to write a story, the summary goes up onto the website beside the banner, and I create the story's own page. Sounds a lot, but it helps to keep me motivated and my muse active... it keeps the stories coming.
Coming up tomorrow - Writing the Walkthrough... how the summary, and outline become a detailed plot walkthrough.
no subject
:mckay:
*giggles*
Yay! 11.30, mom's FINALLY left the living room, I took something for my upcoming headache, so now I can go read the scene where some boys fight! *g*
Spikey
no subject
Are you picked up from the floor yet?
no subject
Now, during the Michael/Shep thing, if Teyla was around then, I seriously hope she would have slapped Michael! :P He deserved it. Kids...
Spikey
no subject
no subject
It's *my name* she... And so on. :P
Shep wasn't too happy.
And neither would Teyla be, had she heard that. Well, I wouldn't be. *g*
Spikey
no subject
no subject
Nooooooooooooooo!
That's the most efficient thing Michael can say to annoy Shep, lol! Let it in! *g*
*Hugs*
Spikey
no subject