Rowling might not use a traditional Deus ex Machina sort of device (though I'm not sure she doesn't with horcruxes, etc, which seemed to be placed in the series in order to impose an epic structure on what had been a non-epic series of extremely charming and sweet stories), but the fact that no adult trusts HP and co even after they're consistently right and save the day seems a bit device-ish. It's similar to the unbeatable foe, who is totally unbeatable, until someone does a pretty basic knife trick and ends winter forever.
We are all salty about this.
What is Milanote? It must be useful if you use it.Yes! My process is very similar. I use Milanote for everything developmental and in this app I have hundreds of thousands of words of backstory, questions, answers, possibilities. I write it all down so I can go back to it time and again, even if it seems like nonsense. As you say, not much of it goes into the book, but I least I know what's going on
I know how this plot hole came about now, after sleeping on it. One of the characters presented me with a plot twist the other day, so I started writing that into the book without realising how it would affect the bones. But I think I've found a solution, and I'll be obsessing over it for the rest of the day to make sure it's airtight.
Has anyone read her book The Casual Vacancy? I loved it. It is not a kid-lit book at all. It's about the events that follow the unexpected heart attack death of a town counselor. I loved the way she got inside each character's mind and spun the tale from beginning to end. She's a brilliant writer, not just a YA hack.
Milanote is like an organiser for creatives. It provides a way of compiling everything that goes into your creative process in a way that makes sense to you. The flexibility is great, moving things around is easy and there's no real limit on what you can put into it: from sticky-notes to character profiles, your entire manuscript or just chapters if that works better for you. You can insert images, links, audio, video, to do lists.
Yes, yes, and Hitler sure knew how to sand and prime a wall, but, in the same general way, we don't define him by the other stuff he's done, and we don't define Rowling by anything but Harry Potter. That's not a bad thing. It's deeply flawed, but it's deeply brilliant. Also, is YA hack a bit harsh for the person who, almost single handedly, made reading cool for an entire generation of kids.
You're right. She's no hack, and she did save a generation or two from illiteracy. But I still recommend Casual Vacancy. It's a great read, especially how she gets into the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.
I get it. I use Evernote and Scrivener together in the same way.
