Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Three Levels of Writing

Three Levels of Writing

To the military mind there are three level of war. These are the tactical, operational and Strategic. The classification is based upon the scope of the conflict. Local conflicts are considered tactical, regional are Operational and those involving alliances and conflicts among nations are deemed Strategic.

For the strategists each requires a different thinking cap. Battles and skirmishes are left to the local commanders, Stringing battles and victories together into a regional context is a matter for Generals and Strategic planning involves governments and heads of state. Each requires a different perspective and offers its own unique set of challenges. Thus a different skill set is required of leaders at each of the levels of war.

The same analogy holds true for writing a novel. If the novel is to be one of a series or a trilogy then the Author must put on his/her strategic hat and orchestrate how the different books will flow into one another in a cohesive sort of way. If it will involve a single book than the strategic vision will involve the flow of the chapters from beginning to end.

The operational aspect is to orchestrate the chapters in say part…1, 2 and 3; scenes in a chapter, or in a smaller work the scenes in a given chapter.

The tactical aspect is the writing of the scenes and moments contained in the chapter.

As I spoke at greater length on yesterday this requires a plan and the plan consists of an outline of what will be taking place at all levels. For example one could use an outline of books, an outline of chapters and an outline scenes and moments to both provide a structure and break the story down into manageable components that can be written one at a time.

Now the reason I mention all this is because the human mind is so small that it can’t process the complexity of the three levels simultaneously. The writer like a military leader must quite literally wear one hat at a time. He/She must tell themselves, “OK I am thinking Strategically, this is how the books and parts and chapter are going to sort out in a macro sense, Next this is how the chapters will integrate in an intermediate sense and finally this is how each of the chapters will be composed of micro… scenes and moments.

If you do this anyone can write a novel and if you don’t you will soon discover you are wasting a lot of time and going nowhere.

As you proceed in the first draft you will find you are often spending as much time on the outline, research and character development as you are on writing the story. When you start on the second edit draft the three types of outlines might again undergo a radical metamorphosis. As the work expands and starts to breath it will take all your skill just to stick the darn thing together. It is a challenge but something an author can manage….Good luck.