Idea Walks?
Oct 10, 2011 Daily Writing
The story I mentioned in the Oct 5 entry is nearing the end. It has a new title, which I like considerably more, and the framework of the whole thing works better. It may need one more element. We’ll see. It stands on its own pretty well now, though. So that’s progress.
While the weather is nice here in Indiana, I’ve taken to attempting lunchtime walks–meaning I try to eat at my desk while working, then if I get time I use my actual break time to walk. There’s a nice park right next to my office building that’s ready-made for this. If I get a chance today I’ll take my little story with me and read it aloud. That’s always fun, though I have to be careful about reading too loud and making people think I’m just crazy.
Maybe that’s why people stray away from me while I’m walking, you think? [grin]
In all seriousness, though, I find that these walks do a few things. First, they get my blood pumping after a morning in corporate America–always a good thing. I come back with more energy, at least. They also get me out of the box. Walking outside gives me something different to look at, and seems to let my brain reset. It’s amazing how many times I come back from a lunchtime walk with a new answer to a problem that I’ve been working on and find that this answer is perfect. Perhaps I should call these idea walks. Sounds good to me.
Anyway, I’m asking myself right now to dig deeper into the story–I’m asking myself what the story really means to the main character. I think the plot, and the depth of character, as they stand now do a good job for the reader, but I’m feeling that if I can go that extra half-step it would raise the thing in its entirety from being a solid piece of work that’s fun to read to being a truly “good story.”
And so I’ll throw this question on the back of the stack right now, and let it bubble up during the lunchtime walk and we’ll see what comes of it.
Magic
Oct 5, 2011 Daily Writing
For the past few days I’ve been fiddling around with a cranky story. It was an unhappy little thing, something I wrote in late summer and just haven’t gotten back to in order to really fix it. Upon some reflection I felt the hole in it–or at least felt a hole. We’ll see later if it’s the only hole. But I hadn’t been able to decide how to fix it.
Then yesterday afternoon, while walking at lunch, an idea hit me.
This morning I let the idea run and wound up with about four pages of stuff that feels right. Yeah, it needs to be edited down. Maybe it should be two pages. Or three. Whatever. You get the idea. The most interesting thing about this morning’s work is that, while it was kicked off by yesterday’s idea, the bulk of the flow went in a totally different way.
This is one of the things I like the most about writing fiction. It’s like magic. One moment there’s nothing, and then a half hour or an hour later the solution just kind of appears.
Rewrite Ensues
Jun 29, 2011 Daily Writing
Lisa says my story in a day isn’t actually, you know, uh … finished. She is, unfortunately, so correct. Rewrite in progress.
The Writing Muscle
Jun 23, 2011 Daily Writing
I was listening to the most recent Adventures in Sci Fl Publishing podcast, featuring an interview with Kris Rusch, and she said something that I really already knew. She said that writing is a muscle, and that to write fast you just need to practice writing fast.
Well, duh.
But, you see, I’ve been off work this week, and it’s suddenly hit me again just how true this statement is. I’ve been having a great time of it this week. My daily process is: (1) Get up about 8:00 AM, (2) write until noon, (3) lunch, (4) do something good around the house/yard, (5) walk to the gym and work out, then walk home, (6) go to dinner with my lovely wife, (7) do whatever in the evening with her, (8) go to bed. Simple. Great. Much fun.
But then, I need to say that the 3-4 hours of writing has not always been particularly fruitful. I’m not used to having that kind of time anymore. I’m more used to 30 minutes or an hour. It’s actually a little annoying. But yesterday I actually loosened up a bit, and got a lot done, and then…all of a sudden…in the middle of the book I was working on, I wrote a strange paragraph. It ddn’t fit, you see. So I pulled it out, and looked at it.
It belonged in a different story.
So today I decided to stop working on the book and explore this story. That was the plan, anyway.
For a couple reasons, I decided that today I would do the cliche-kinda thing, and go to Starbucks to write. I settled in with my Mocah, and I started to write. But oddly, I didn’t start with the paragraph I had intended to. Instead, I started with something completely different. Decidinng to trust my instinct, I just went with it. I powered on. Two mochas and nearly four hours later, I had a complete short story. Beginning, middle, end. Do you know how long it’s been since I wrote an entire short story in a single sitting? I honestly can’t remmeber the last time that happened.
All I can say is that I feel really solid about it, and I like the story, too. Sure, it needs work–it’s a first draft, afterall. But the story is there.
Very cool.
I was thinking about this when I went to the gym this afternoon. I’m spending time there nearly every day, working on my muscles, working on my endurance. I’m feeling good about that. But, for the obvious reson, I’m feeling better today. I’ve missed that feeling, the sense of confidence that I can finish a story in a day. It’s a swagger thing. And it’s good to get it back.
Yeah, I hear ya…
“Well, duh.”
Deca-Dad is Recommended
Mar 1, 2011 Daily Writing, Short Stories
I’m so pleased to report that my short story, “Deca-Dad” made Tangent Online’s 2010 Recommended Reading List.
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So, today I’m moving onward with a new short story tentatively titled “Walking the Line.” It’s almost fully formed now. Just looking for that last little thing that moves it from being interesting to really good. You know what I mean, right? That thing you can’t describe, but is certainly real, and that thing you know as soon as you feel it.
Yeah. That thing.
