So I'm rounding in on the 20,000 word mark on my current WIP. The thing is, its taken me so long to get here! I feel like I've been struggling with this story for so long its knitted to my bones.
Since June, I have clawed and deleted and guzzled cold coffee at one in the morning...only to snarl at the monitor and slash every paragraph I just wrote.
I don't know why this seems to happen...EVERY time. I start out all bright-eyed and hopeful and then the image I had in my head seems to come out in a twisted, heaving mess on the paper. No worries, I tell myself. Its part of a process, the sculpting and winnowing, and I keep typing until...
Nothing sounds right, the characters betray me at every turn with their dumb dialogue and pointless action beats. The plot, once so clear and brilliant, disintegrates into a muddled, meandering mess.
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| Mr. Vicious |
I believe I have reached this sanity-questioning point in my "process" for this book. I'm a plotter and a planner, so most of my three-ring binder is filled with notes and flow charts and diagrams and the detritus of an uptight mind.
So much so, that I may have planned myself out of inspiration. Sometimes too much of a good thing is what gives you the dry heaves...right?
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| Man Muse |
<-----You know who you are, Man Muse! *sigh*
What do you do when your story goes off the rails? Any great advice? Feel free to commiserate in the comments. I feel you.
Photograph by The Shorts and Longs Photo by gdeantownshende
