Letters...I Get Letters...

Geesh. I received a complaint via email that uploading two photos did not a blog make.

Hey--what about my progress with the Nano project? Isn’t 9,000 words in 6 days enough writing without having to string together crap for my blog??

Here’s the deal. It turns out that three social obligations in a row (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) are NOT conducive to creativity. So, even though I had all of Sunday to bang out the great American novel, my fingers literally froze in their tracks (much like my brain cells).

In fact, I nearly threw in the proverbial towel.

Suddenly the premise sucked, I hated the characters, and I didn’t know why I ever though I could just “pants” my way through this.

Ah, but experience kicked in. I decided to wait until Monday—see if I could rev up the creative juices with a clear head, and get back in the groove.

Thank God, I did.

Well, and thank God for Internet glitches. Lemme tell ya, the fact I didn’t have Internet access last night is directly correlated to my output. Another lesson.

TEN PAGES. The last time I wrote ten pages in a day was…well…the last time I successfully completed NaNoWriMo (forget the year—2001, maybe). I even reached the point where the writing doesn't seem like drek, although there’s still a huge possibility that it is.

There are about as many writing processes as there are writers, and I’ve studied (not to mention experimented with) a ton of them (the processes, not the writers). On one hand you have the “panters” who claim that knowing too much about the story spoils the joy of writing. On the other, you have the “plotters” who use spreadsheets, color-coded index cards, full-blown synopses, and character interviews before typing a word.

I haven’t “pantsed” since my experience with Nano Year One. Even Fit For Love, my first serious stab at writing for publication, involved a rudimentary scene-by-scene plotting sheet. Then, with Stealing Amy, I concocted a table for about the first half of the book—detailing the hero and heroine’s goal, motivation, and conflict for each scene. For Leftovers, I wrote a pretty detailed synopsis—ha—a lot of good THAT did me.

So it feels good to try something new again. Even though, at this very moment, I have absolutely no idea what the next scene will be about, let alone the next chapter, the first turning point, or the “black moment.”

There’s something to be said for spontaneity...as long as your brain cells are willing to go along for the ride...and your Internet service provider continues to be on the blink.

P.S. Breaking News: I just read that Brittney has filed for divorce from K-Fed. On top of Reese and Ryan...kinda shakes your belief in the whole institution of marriage, doesn't it??

Kidding.