How I Write...

Well, I made it to 866 words last night... er.... this morning.... before I crashed and went to bed at about 4am.  Thankfully the baby stayed asleep and I didn't wake him when I came to bed.  Almost.  But luck was with me... this time.

But I was on a roll with writing and was excited about it for the first time in I don't know how long!  I couldn't stop just because of needing sleep.  Besides, with a two month old, I'm getting used to not getting much sleep.  LOL

So, I've decided to go with my old way of writing.  If you read all the books on 'how to write a book', you get the advise to have a plan, to have an outline, to be organized.  Well, that's not me!  I used to write a lot and would write some really good short stories in school.  But how did I do that so many years ago?  Well, I finally remembered and since the "expert's" advise wasn't working, I figured I'd go back to MY way of doing things.

I let the story write itself.

Let me explain.  I start with a character.  I have a rough idea of his/her background in my head, but it's subject to change a bit as the story develops.  Then I picture that character in my head... what is he/she doing?  Where did my mind first randomly picture the character?  Usually when you think of someone, you pcture them and their surroundings, correct?  Well, I do the same with the character.  Then I start writing and I just let my imagination go.  I basically just "watch" the character and write down what happens.  As the story develops some, then I begin to "see" where the story is going and then write toward that goal.  Sometimes it doesn't work out that way and takes a turn I'm not expecting.  Then I have a decision to make;  fix the dynamics/physics/etc. of what isn't meshing well, or go with it.  I've found that it's easier to just go with it and let it play out in my mind than to try to fix it.  Usually if I try to "fix" it, then the writing usually feels strained and doesn't flow as well.  When I go with it, then it flows better and the plot finds it's own path.  I hope that makes sense.  And if anyone is struggling with writer's block, I hope maybe that can help.