If Stuck, Go to Bed
Story ideas - especially story beginnings - constantly vie for my attention. Inspiration just comes. Maybe a certain level of thankfulness, love, hate or other passionate emotion must be nurtured, but material is all around. And that's a good thing, I think.
Problem is, sometimes one story situation or character scooches over into the territory of another. Things don't run so smoothly when that happens. Events and people play hide and seek with the page. They switch around like it's their business instead of mine. Aren't I the author here? And isn't that supposed to be a sort of God-like position? I could pull my hair.
Like maybe Shoplifter Sue wants to hop in the suitcase of Cora Do-gooder and go to Hawaii, instead of staying in that Kansas small town where she belongs. I've already assigned Sue the little white house on Dewberry Lane, where she resides with her cat, her German Shepherd, and a bird named Desmond TuTu, but no, she vacates the place. It's a nice Sunday evening. I've claimed some writing time. Got my coffee. Turn on the monitor and ...where is my lady? She's gone, gone, gone, off to Hawaii. Not the plan.
Characters ever get you confused and in a tither over what happens next? Ever stare at the screen for half an hour, without blinking an eye? Did a bag of corn chips become empty, but you swear you didn't eat even one? Well, I hope so--because that means I'm not alone. Truly, if any of this craziness ever happens to you, I've got one good piece of advice--Go To Bed.
Sleep. Your roving characters and their big ideas will look better in the light of a new day. Maybe your Shoplifter Sue, or other wisecracker you've got in your files, knows the story best. Try letting her do her thing.
Have fun with your writing. Don't pull your hair. If it's not bedtime when the characters drive you mad, do something else instead. Like go for coffee or to a movie with a friend. Those blasted live-wires will be there when you return. Thank Goodness.
Here's to your prosperous writing day!
Problem is, sometimes one story situation or character scooches over into the territory of another. Things don't run so smoothly when that happens. Events and people play hide and seek with the page. They switch around like it's their business instead of mine. Aren't I the author here? And isn't that supposed to be a sort of God-like position? I could pull my hair.
Like maybe Shoplifter Sue wants to hop in the suitcase of Cora Do-gooder and go to Hawaii, instead of staying in that Kansas small town where she belongs. I've already assigned Sue the little white house on Dewberry Lane, where she resides with her cat, her German Shepherd, and a bird named Desmond TuTu, but no, she vacates the place. It's a nice Sunday evening. I've claimed some writing time. Got my coffee. Turn on the monitor and ...where is my lady? She's gone, gone, gone, off to Hawaii. Not the plan.
Characters ever get you confused and in a tither over what happens next? Ever stare at the screen for half an hour, without blinking an eye? Did a bag of corn chips become empty, but you swear you didn't eat even one? Well, I hope so--because that means I'm not alone. Truly, if any of this craziness ever happens to you, I've got one good piece of advice--Go To Bed.
Sleep. Your roving characters and their big ideas will look better in the light of a new day. Maybe your Shoplifter Sue, or other wisecracker you've got in your files, knows the story best. Try letting her do her thing.
Have fun with your writing. Don't pull your hair. If it's not bedtime when the characters drive you mad, do something else instead. Like go for coffee or to a movie with a friend. Those blasted live-wires will be there when you return. Thank Goodness.
Here's to your prosperous writing day!
