One of the problems of being a writer is that in my isolation I can drive round the same problem in circles for hours (days, months...) without finding a solution or a way forward. This is why you should not shut yourself away. Yesterday I walked the dog and had a coffee with a writer friend (thanks Elena!!) and as I explained to her the difficulties inherent in a particular plot element of a WIP of mine, I had a lightbulb moment. I had been handling this plot element all wrong. I had spent time taking this plot element out of the manuscript. I then decided its absence showed and started putting it back in...and thats when it all became too hard. I was avoiding work on this story because it was such an effort to make progress. In describing it to someone else I realised that it wasn't the plot element that was necessary, but the change that that plot element was responsible for. There could be other solutions to support the changes in this character. That plot element was like a whole other plot in itself and forcing it back in was inexorably forcing the story in a direction I didn't want it to go. Maybe one day this plot element will become a story of its own but I couldn't let it be a parasite/succubus on my little mid-grade mystery/thriller. Of course its not just the importance of talking writing with other writers here - its also about trusting your intuition. The fix I was working on was soooo hard this should have been a big red flag. It was so hard because it was WRONG. The relief when I realised all this was immense. Having been stuck at about a third of the way through editing this after 3 months of trying, I am now two thirds of the way through after one day. I can't wait to have this baby finished so I can e-mail it off and get stuck in to some other juicy things I have lined up.
Love the post over at Fifi Colston's blog today. Should we tell the whole truth and nothing but in our blogs? I try keeping it as real as possible and i'm sure many of you out there are experts at reading between the lines sometimes but ultimately my right brain usually asserts itself and does a little cost benefit analysis for me before (or sometimes soon after) I publish a post - (or a friend e-mails me and says 'you can't say that'). Sometimes I want to say more - sometimes I think silence can speak volumes. What do you think...
Showing posts with label intuition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label intuition. Show all posts
Monday, March 22, 2010
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
In praise of intuition...
What inspired my 'magic of reading' post? Excellent question! I have just finished The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson, and while this is a ripping read, with an extremely thought provoking plot (although I can't quite get my head around teenagers quoting Thoreau at will) it wasn't that, that did it. It was an excerpt of Leon Garfield's The Wedding Ghost in my study guide for the university paper I am doing. It is the kind of writing I would give my left arm to be capable of. It is dreamy and poetic and cunning and witty. It is the kind of writing that makes me pause and think 'should I just give up now?' because it is sooooooo good and so far away from where I am now. That kind of brilliance can be a bit overwhelming. I should avoid reading this kind of thing when I am in limbo, in that no-mans-land of being past due dates to hear back about things, when all I can do is look for distractions to keep my mind off all the waiting it is doing. Yes of course I should be writing, writing, writing but my writing brain is sulking.
So while it sulks I thought I'd give a plug for intuition. Intuition has played a big part in my writing career so far. And yes my writing career goes up and down like a well oiled yoyo and some might question whether those gut feelings contribute more to the up than the down. But even if the jury is still out on that one I feel good about using my intuition. I apply it to my plot development, to my character names, to the nuts and bolts of sentence structure and word choice. I apply it to the question, is this story finished? and, has this received enough editing? I apply it to my dealings with publishers and other industry professionals. In this business, one learns the ropes as one goes. Even when I've learned something new, 9 times out of 10 I am already moving on to a different phase, a different set of circumstances, a new,untried experience where I can't draw on everything I've learnt before. So I have to trust my intuition. I always try to throw in honesty and politeness as well - these three are a potent brew. If in doubt, check in with your intuition. After all its an offshoot of the sum of all your knowledge, wrapped in who you are as an individual. If you can't trust yourself who can you trust!
So while it sulks I thought I'd give a plug for intuition. Intuition has played a big part in my writing career so far. And yes my writing career goes up and down like a well oiled yoyo and some might question whether those gut feelings contribute more to the up than the down. But even if the jury is still out on that one I feel good about using my intuition. I apply it to my plot development, to my character names, to the nuts and bolts of sentence structure and word choice. I apply it to the question, is this story finished? and, has this received enough editing? I apply it to my dealings with publishers and other industry professionals. In this business, one learns the ropes as one goes. Even when I've learned something new, 9 times out of 10 I am already moving on to a different phase, a different set of circumstances, a new,untried experience where I can't draw on everything I've learnt before. So I have to trust my intuition. I always try to throw in honesty and politeness as well - these three are a potent brew. If in doubt, check in with your intuition. After all its an offshoot of the sum of all your knowledge, wrapped in who you are as an individual. If you can't trust yourself who can you trust!
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