I reached a stopping point in the my current WIP. I could feel the muses luring me away. I wrote 100 pages, and the thoughts that had been navigating so well suddenly came to a halt. I don’t force the writing. At least for me, that takes all the fun out of it. When that happens it’s necessary to shift focus.
I am primarily a fantasy writer, and I’ve been missing it. Although the paranormal romance has been going so well, I’m eager to submerge myself into the uncommon. I need to step outside the box, take a wacky pill, dive into the bizarre.
I pulled out an old manuscript, one I had let sit and considered shelved because of it’s lack of clarity. It was a story I had used to learn the writing craft before I knew even how to set margins.
I flipped through it, talked to it, asked it what it needed. What could I do to make every page sing to me? Artists are allowed their dose of eccentricity. Besides, there was no one else around.
I discovered several flaws, and the fact that I can see those now means that my skill has improved considerably since I started writing.
The story itself was good. It just needed a few adjustments.
I originally wrote it in first person, and the flow wasn’t there, so I experimented. It’s the best way to learn. I took the first 30 pages and switched them to third person. The difference was notable, incredible. That familiar tingle started, erupted like a volcano and tickled me to my toes.
Writing fantasy does that to me. I discovered a sense of direction, a refocus. I decided to see how far I could get with these 30 pages. It would mean a rewrite of the story, but the skeleton was there for me to play with.
I rewrote the prologue, then decided the story worked fine without it. If anything I can offer it as optional. I allowed the tale to be told by the hero, shifting focus away from the heroine at first. I would need to enhance his struggles. Conflict is what renders a book exciting.
It was my wish to show the story instead of telling about it, which meant I added more dialogue, physical
reactions, and deep thought. Soul-searching can be a wonderful tool.
I wanted the language to be enticing. Being a poet at heart, I like writing pretty prose, but it has to make
sense and draw the reader in.
Sunday morning I finished my edit on all 30 pages and brought an entire world to life.
I’m happy to say that this is a keeper, I can’t wait to see how the rest of it looks when I’m done, or when the muses suggest I return to the paranormal romance.
Socrates believed that the gods provided us with a type of insanity. The illness was responsible for poetry, mysticism, love, and philosophy. He called it Divine Madness. We call it intuition, inspiration, the muse. Regardless, I have been contaminated. This blog is an attempt to share the ramblings in my head by the subtle stroking of keys. I'm going to touch upon those situations that move me and define me as human.
