Writing a story is like any other big and complex task–the real challenge is to see it clearly.
If you work in a corporate environment, you should glom onto that statement quite easily. I think the source of pretty much every oddity of the corporate work environment is driven by the idea that a leader someplace has just not seen the situation in the right light. As soon as you see things from the right perspective, the things you do suddenly work, and perhaps just as oddly, those things become easy to accomplish–or at least easier.
I’m thinking about this today because I’ve finally had the dam break on Lord of the Freeborn
How long have I been complaining about this piece of work? Weeks? Months? Yes. But I had my epiphany a few days ago, and then this morning I had what I think will be my final well, duh moment wherein I realized that the problem with Chapter 5 that it was really Chapter 8. As soon as I moved the main action in it, I could immediately see that 30-40% of it was just wrong. I excised that 30-40%, and boom.
Finally.
This getting to the core of the story, and then finding the right ways to bring it together is a good feeling. It’s the reason to write, really. Of course, I want it to happen a bit more quickly in the future. I am generally more of a proponent of “fast” writing, that process that forces your analytical side from getting in your way. But sometimes stuff happens. Sometimes you’re looking at it wrong, and you just have to figure out what’s happening on its own time.
It’s okay, though.
Anything worth doing is worth doing well. But for me, I find that I constantly need to remind myself that pretty much any time I’m struggling to get something to come out right, it’s because I’m not thinking about that thing in the right way.