The Next Step

Back the the drawing board, as they say. But not really, because, yahoo, they liked the story. There are holes in the plot, to be sure, but not many, and none that aren't fixable. This is why I'm so happy with this process. It's so much better to make changes to the plot now, rather than when all the text has been scripted.

The kinds of plot holes I tend to make are things like having the character do things that are out of character. In this story, for example, my main character slips off in her kayak every morning after her Dad and brother are already gone so they won't know she's going. She's afraid they will be alarmed for her safety. So why, later, when she wants to go kayaking at night, does she tell them she's going? And why don't they react? what was she scared of all along? So I have to make a slight change to my plan, so that all those characters will react in character.
Thanks to Alex and Carol for their eagle eyes on my chapter outline!

Taking the next step

It's time to share. I've written the outline for my story--which I'm tentatively calling Sea Otter Cove, though I know that name won't stick--and now I'm passing it along to to other writers for review. I like doing that at this stage, when I haven't invested too much time in writing yet, just in imagining, so any changes they suggest won't be devastating. Actually, maybe they will. What if they don't like it at all? What if they think the premise is boring, or unrealistic? What if the characters seem flimsy? Argh... Too late now, I've already sent them the file.
Gulp.