Faking It
All this week, I’ve been sort of winging it with my work in progress. There is an overarching outline with key plot points already decided, but it’s been a bit of a struggle to bridge the gaps between them. I sit at the computer and type a few lines, then decide to make coffee. Another 50 or 60 words and it becomes painfully clear that the arm chair on the other side of the room is at a slightly odd angle to the couch. After realigning the furniture, I might make it all the way through a paragraph before deciding that I’ll be better able to think through the next few pages in the shower.
A good day sees me writing 2,000 words in about an hour and a half. This week has already seen more than one day of barely cresting 1,000 after four or five hours of waffling between the computer and whatever distractions I can find. The worry in these moments is that I’m only writing filler to get me one more day closer to my final word count; that I’m ultimately going to have to edit everything out and rewrite it during revisions.
Yesterday I had lunch plans and knew I needed to get as much work done in the morning as possible. I skimmed the pages from the last few days, and had no troubles jumping directly into a steady flow. Somewhere in the mental meandering and uncertainty, I’d actually managed to eke out a few new ideas and set myself up with a solid way to bridge the gap through major scenes. The pages will still need heavy edits, but it won’t be the wholesale slash and burn I’d anticipated.
If you’re not the type to open your word processor every day with anticipation for what surprises your brain has in mind for the story you don’t know yet, it helps to think forward at least a chapter or two. No matter what your chosen outlining theory may be, there will always be days where the words don’t flow as easily as you’d like, but the trick is in remembering that this is sometimes where your best ideas will come from. The time spent spinning in your chair or doing the dishes is time spent mulling over your story and where best to take it next, and the words that come hardest may just be the ones most worth writing.
Hello Mark,
I just found your blog a couple of weeks ago (through Nathan Bransford’s forums). I am here in Edmonton, Alberta so the idea of a fellow Canadian spending hours in front of his computer banging out words appealed to me. I started reading…and am hooked! From what I gather from your current WIP, we don’t write the same genre but we do share some similarities. This includes our love of travel. I lived and worked in Cuba for more than 3 years and also lived in Bolivia, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Anyway, just wanted to pass on that I love your blog. I find a lot of inspiration in your posts. This morning I found myself ‘refreshing’ your page and muttering “He said he updates on Thursdays…”. Thanks for not disappointing.
Take care,
May 20th, 2010 at 10:23 amAnother Marc (but this one with a C)
Thanks for the kind words, Marc. I’m always glad to hear that what I’m writing is reaching people in some meaningful way. I’ve actually been having a hard time finding blogs from other aspiring Canadian authors, so please let me know if there are any you’ve been reading.
It’s also nice to know that someone is out there keeping me honest about my posting deadlines. I’ve been trying to set my posts up to go automatically in the wee hours of the morning, but I wrote this one late last night and wanted to reread for coherency this morning.
May 20th, 2010 at 1:11 pm