explore | Grilled Cheese

My first ever snippet share I believe... an indirect response, so I hope it's fun.

For my own #Sustember answer --

I have two active WIPs right now.

First is Aloe, second is Such Sweet Sorrow.

#Sustember Day 5 - Share a snippet from your WIP with us!

The prompt is Mystery or Question

Starting out, I know the beginning and usually have a sense of the ending, but everything else largely remains a mystery. A lot of the story comes to me in the details. I will describe something to set the scene or give character, and then I'll realize later on what its implications are.

#Sustember

I wonder who the stalker is. Did someone find the body? The photos date back at least five months. Why didn't he tell me anything? Doesn't he trust me? So dissapointing... I had *plans* for this one. I hear the jingle of keys in the lock, and I plaster a smile on my face, gripping my gun.
#Sustember

Half and half. When I start writing, I have a clear idea of the story's beginning, climax, and ending, but I also like to let it flow. Sometimes my characters surprise me by taking paths I didn't expect. Those are the best days of writing.
#Sustember

All of the above? I'm a staunch supporter of slow building suspense, to allow the reader discover with one character what kind of trouble they've gotten themselves into. Even if they know from the start that it can only end badly. That gives it a satisfying sense of doom.
#Sustember

Hi, #Sustember! I'm May and I write horror. My current WIP is a story that blends psychological horror and the supernatural. I think that suspense is what adds spice to a story. The thing that hooks a reader. Truth to be told, I rarely read stories unless there's some suspense in them.

How the hell did I miss this?
#sustember

#Sustember Day 4
Izzy's mouth fell open, her eyes blinking rapidly. Why the fuck does she have pictures of me?
Her brain barely had time to register anything beyond a string of expletives before she heard the keys jingling in the door.
She slammed the drawer shut and took a seat on the opposite

I’m more of a planner. Some manuscripts begin as loose timelines of events that guide my writing; others have rigid backbones that need to be fleshed out.

I try to finish a manuscript, or get close, before I begin serious editing because I struggle to get back into creative mode.

#Sustember Day 3

For my ongoing WIPs, I am a planster. When I first get an idea, I start in with reckless abandon.

It starts with a "what if..." which usually leads to suspense. I shrug and roll with it. If it ends up not working, I place it in a hold document to use later, either as a whole or in parts.
#Sustember

Happy #Sustember!

I'm something of a plantser, though my planning is typically focused more on character and worldbuilding than on plot. That said, for the moments of suspense, I generally know big plot beats that I'm writing towards, and work to weave them in the first draft, and refine as I edit.

Hello #Sustember 3!
I am such a pantser. I like to weave suspense in as I go along. I plan nothing and just let the story roll over me 💙

My workflow looks like this:
Headphones
Same song to start
Many many hits off my weed vape
Crack knuckles and dive in.
I usually surface about an hour later.

I used to thoroughly outline everything before drafting anything, but I've been experimenting with plantsing lately, and it's proven quite effective. Moreover, I want to try starting with a zero draft in the future versus going straight into a first draft. #Sustember

#Sustember Day 3 - Planning

As I sit here editing WIP 2 by going over all of my charts, character documents, notes, outlines, and multiple drafts, I think I can safely say that I'm a planner. I have a background in research. I like that part of writing. I spend a lot of time plotting. But...
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#Sustember

I attempt an outline. Which is I don't even follow it completely 😅 But it gives me a nice basis to think about where it's going~

For suspense, I weave it in as I go depending on what feels right--but then some I've added later. Like a certain encounter with a certain someone wasn't

#Sustember: My sci-fi has heists in it which call for a bit of 0 draft planning (but that would be tension, not suspense). My untitled thriller is a mystery and I've definitely been outlining more extensively to get a sense of the shape of the plot. I usually do a skeleton outline of- 1/2