I’ve made some good progress on the Destiny manuscript (seventy pages in the past 14 days), averaging 5 pages a day. I’m nearly at the end of Part I, and I need to get myself mentally prepared for the big plot crisis that will change the story world and propel the characters forward. I’m not exactly certain how to start it, but my little grey cells are working on it.
I’ve learned to trust my little grey cells. Time and time again, I reach a quandary in my plot where I’m not quite certain how to proceed, or I need either another complication or partial resolution, and I can’t seem to grasp it. I’ve found that letting go of the problem for a day or two is all it takes, so I just let it go.
I spend my writing time catching up on my outline (where the story I wrote diverged from the actual planned story line), brainstorming telling details and plot complications, and working on the story line for the next book. I guess I’m lucky; I haven’t really had problems with the dreaded writers block; not for long, anyway. If I’m really stuck, I’ve got a list of short story topics that I want to pursue.
For some reason, all my short stories ideas end up as horror. Its fun to write, and allows me to flex a different set of mental muscles. It only takes me a few days to write a short story (I like to keep the word count under 4000), so I don’t feel guilty taking time away from my current manuscript. So far, I haven’t sold a single one, but that doesn’t bother me (well, maybe a little). I mean, it would be nice, but the purpose of writing the short stories is to get my mind working on something else for a few days. Something fast and furious, as opposed to the regular circuit; AND I have something to show for it when I’m done.
After three or four days away, my hands are itching to get back to the regularly scheduled writing, and my little grey cells are bursting with fresh ideas. Woo hoo!
