Sunday, June 5, 2011

Writus Interruptus


Yeah, I don’t know any Latin. Sometimes I just put something up there because I like how it sounds.

Anyway, what I’m here to talk about is jumping back into a story after a break (taken willingly or not). It can be hard! I’ve had so much going on lately, that I haven’t been able to write with any consistency (only two days last week—bad!). However, I don’t want to lose momentum on the story because a) I really like it and b) I really want to finish it. So what’s a writer to do?

Easy. Well, maybe not easy, but you know what I mean. Keep the momentum going! On days where I wasn’t able to write, I did smaller things that involve the story. One day, I worked on a query letter. Obviously, it's not to use right now. I just made it to crystalize what I want from the novel.

It was also helpful to do some world building. I wrote a little about the MC and learned more about her in the process—it should make for some interesting additions. I also wrote some random scenes that I have no idea where to put yet. They were just random bursts of words to keep the fire going.

The whole point of this is: when you can’t get into your story, for whatever reason, don’t let it leave your mind. Keep working on the ancillary pieces: outlines, queries, synopses, characters…whatever. Just do something every day. It will be that much easier to get going again when the time is right.

8 comments:

  1. I'm doing this exact same thing now. Having to break from a current work to work on revisions and than get back into the swing of things. This is a great piece of advice to work on smaller aspects, if only for a couple of minutes a day. Thanks!

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  2. I've done similar stuff, usually notes and reminders of material for down the line if I've had to take a break from the narrative itself.

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  3. I ditto the above. Right now, I am burning up the keyboard on the WIP. But I know that could hit a wall.

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  4. I agree! sometimes I just put the character in a random scene and see what happens. But it's awful to lose the feel of the story. Must. revisit.

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  5. That is actually great advice! I'm going to have to remember this the next time life gets in my way... (stupid life - move your butt!!!)

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  6. So true. I've learned that, this year, that doing SOMETHING every day keeps me on track and motivated. When I skip a day of writing I usually end up skipping five.

    Don't forget the Summer in the City blogfest today. I'm looking forward to hearing your goals :)

    http://www.bessweatherby.com/2011/05/second-summer-in-city-blogfest-june-6.html

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  7. I know exactly what you mean! I'm about to re-enter my manuscript after not opening the file for some time. In my own defense, I did have a deadline to meet on another writing project. However, that's done now and all I can think (with a small note of panic) is "Where was I???"

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  8. I remember hearing at some point that you should write your query letter long before you are ready to query, as soon as you can in your writing process (along with your one or two sentence pitch), because it forces you to define the major driving forces and character motivation - I found it was wonderful tool and after working on it I realized had some crucial things missing in my novel. And such a good point you make, not letting the story leave your mind. Even if I can't muster myself to write, I do make myself read a chapter or two.

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Please validate me.