Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Guest Post with author Brian Beam

Letting Your Story Flow

by Brian Beam


Like many writers, I have had my share of discarded manuscripts, some only paragraphs, others dozens of pages. So many hours, so many ideas, all thrown away.

At the height of my frustration at not being able to finish a complete fantasy novel, I knew I had to try something else. I wanted to identify that special “something” which would allow me to fulfill my dream of finishing my first novel. Through articles about writing, interviews with my favorite authors, and instructional books, I found that a common theme was outlining your story. 

So, I started outlining. However, instead of discarding my manuscripts, I found that I couldn’t even start one to discard. It made no sense to me. The story was right there on the page. All I had to do was expand it into narrative. It should have been easy. For me, though, easy as it may have been, the inspiration to write those stories evaporated.

After taking a step back, I realized that I felt too constrained with my outlines. I had written out the flow of the stories, but then I felt stuck to that flow. Getting new ideas meant going back through my outline to figure out exactly how that new idea would affect the rest of the rest of the plot points. It felt tedious. I kind of gave up.

After a few years of minimal writing, I got a general idea for a series of short stories. It was the first idea I had been excited about in so long that I just had to put it to paper. I forewent the outlining, just wanting to enjoy the feeling of writing again. I was only a couple pages in when I realized that my first idea was not going to work as a short story. My new plan was to expand my story into a trilogy of novellas.

Suddenly I was being led down unexpected paths by my own characters, realizing that they were leading me through the story more than I was leading them. I realized why outlines do not work for me. I prefer to delve into my stories with a strong beginning and ending in mind, create some interesting characters, get to know those characters, and then let the story flow like a river with me just riding the current. I let the rapids of the river toss me about while still getting from the Point A to Point B idea I have formed in my head.  By the time I reached the end of the river, I had a 140,000+ word novel.

I have found that the key to my writing is in letting the story write itself. So, to all those writers out there who abhor outlining, just let your story carry you. All it takes is a good idea and strong characters to take you along for the ride.

Check out my self-published debut fantasy eBook, The Dragon Gem, on Amazon!
http://www.amazon.com/The-Dragon-Korins-Journal-ebook/dp/B007P02OHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335294746&sr=8-


About the Author:

Brian Beam was born and raised in Kentucky and is a proud husband and father. He holds degrees in marketing and nursing, following his passion for writing in his free time. Having the pleasure of being a stay at home father for the latter part of 2011, he took the opportunity to write his first book, The Dragon Gem, between diaper changes, feedings, and playtime with his pride and joy. His writing has been influenced and inspired by some of his favorite authors including Brandon Sanderson, Robert Jordan, Jim Butcher, Patrick Rothfuss, and Terry Goodkind.

Feel free to check out Brian and his book at:
http://www.facebook.com/brianbeamauthor
http://www.goodreads.com/bbeams32
or shoot him an email at bbeams32@gmail.com

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