I am working on a book. A novel? Maybe. Anyway, I went on a streak where the words were just pouring out of my fingers and onto the screen and it was pretty good. But then I hit a roadblock. After nearly 12,000 words, I realized nothing had happened. (I wish you could hear my voice and see my flared nostrils as I say, nothing had happened).
Now, I have read books where it takes a while for things to get going but my plot felt too undecided. I thought that if I just let myself go without a plan, that real magic would happen. I thought I might open up some secret corridor in my brain where my imagination would lead me to thrilling places with shiny twists and turns. I could almost see myself floating above the story ideas that swirled like meandering streams and jutted up into the sky like mountains. I may have even saw myself holding on to a balloon but with just one hand. Or, maybe I was just remembering a Lucky Charms commercial. Either way, I needed to stop and regroup. And have some cereal.
The first thing I did was dig into my character descriptions. I needed to create these people from scratch so that I could really see them when I was writing. I’m still working on details like mannerisms and body type and tone of voice but they are coming to life and beginning to grow into people that I genuinely care about.
When I was outlining one character, I started to include her backstory and found myself crying as I was typing it. This may be partly due to PMS or I’m just really talented. (Ah, that’s sarcasm in case you didn’t know). The point is that I connected to her and I feel her and I think that’s a real turning point in my writing.
Next, I started an outline. I have four lines typed and now I’m stumped. Getting up for a piece of cheese and a handful of tortilla chips did nothing to aid in my stumpy-ness. Folding laundry just made me sad because I hate chores.
I really think I’m on to something but some days I feel like I’m trapped in a tiny box and whichever way I turn, I bump into a wall. And it hurts and it makes me swear.
So, what’s an aspiring author to do?
Google “What authors have said about their first book”.
Scrolling, scrolling.
I landed on “How to write your debut novel, according to Penguin authors”
Here, I found some great advice…..
“Time applied equals work completed. So much of writing is actually just being in despair about writing, not actually writing. Just write your crap and accept it!”
Frances Cha, author of If I Had Your Face
Thank you Frances Cha. This is just what I needed.
I’m going to go write my crap.
Talk soon!