Sunday, March 5, 2017

Where Was I?





Lately whenever I have a little free time that would normally be used to write, something else pops up that demands my attention.  In the back of my mind, there’s the next project I’ve been working on. It’s grown to about 200 pages in a very rough draft.  That’s promising. The story is developing nicely. A few twists have already appeared. A subplot or two. A little misdirection, which is always good.  But with all these other demands on my time, the book just sits quietly, waiting and waiting for me to return and keep the story going.

Thursday night I had a free hour, so I called up the file and the first thing that hit my mind was ‘where was I?’  How is it possible that I couldn’t recall where I was in the story?  This wasn’t someone else’s tale.  This is mine. How could I forget what was happening? How could I not know what tension was taking place? I felt like a negligent parent who forgot one of the kids sporting events.  How could I not know where I was?

It happens. Some people have the luxury of being able to write on a daily basis.  I’m envious of them. But life has other demands on me. When I can carve some time out to write, and it’s been a while since I’ve responded to the call of my characters, I’ll go back and read where I left off. With any luck at all, that will kick start the ideas. The background music becomes a little sharper, the screen grows brighter and the characters come out to play. And just like good friends, we pick up wherever we left off.  Sometimes they take a chance, do something unexpected and we’re all pleasantly surprised.

As to the unexpected, here’s a little video clip that fits the bill. Hope you enjoy it.




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