Cracking the whip on my writing in order to produce more of it. This blog has nothing but snippets of what I accomplish daily.
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Sunday, May 26, 2013
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Magic beyond the plan
I can plan a book as much as I like—write detailed outlines, scene lists, synopses; I can map and collage and color-code as much as I like, but the actual story happens when I sit down, open the window into that other world, and let the characters go, do their thing. It is only in sitting down, day after day, that I discover that one character, a taciturn ex-soldier, really loves cats, and shows another character a secret about barn cats that has some very strong metaphorical underpinnings for the girl’s journey. I couldn’t plan that, because I didn’t know it. It’s only in the writing, only when a character takes a sudden turn into a new action that surprises me, that I learn who she really is beneath her Paper Doll Place Holderness. -- Writer Unboxed: Day After Day After Day by Barbara O'NealAnd this why I don't understand when writers say they can't plan a story because that takes all the fun of discovery out. You still get this no matter how much you plan!
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