Read any good Thriller novel and you'll find that the plot consists of two or more subplots. Many novels get to a point where the protagonist and antagonist are trading scenes back and forth as the action mounts. One technique I use is to plot out scenes within the manuscript with a short paragraph stating the gist of what happens within that scene or chapter.
On days like today when I've been away from my manuscript for longer than I'd like, in this case since last Monday morning, I start by reading what I had written in the proceeding chapters first. This reacquaints me with the story and usually does a very good job of pulling me in, and getting me writing.
When I'm in the mode to write I can easily switch back and forth between characters and sub plots without loosing track of the details. On days when I've been away from the story, like today, I find that if I jump scenes and stay in the head of one character I can cover a lot of ground and crank out some good work.
Today's choice was a character in Book 2 of the Reece Culver Series name Julian. I won't say more than his name because I don't want to spoil the story. I will say this guy plays a major roll in the book and he learns to hate Reece Culver.
During today's writing session I was able to crank out a total of 3,235 words in just about 2.5 hours.
When do I usually use this technique you ask? Most often it comes in handy when I'm in the second half of the book.
I generally don't outline the book until I'm 100 or more pages into the first draft. Since I work a full-time job I find as I write the use of a rough outline comes in handy to jot down plot ideas, and also to help me layer in what I want to write in each scene or chapter of the manuscript.
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