Sunday, August 06, 2006

Baby Steps

Well. I passed the 10K point on my new WIP yesterday, and I'm feeling good. I'm surprised just how much good the change-up has been for me, and I have a lot of idead as to why the other WIP, JUNIPER, hasn't been moving.

With JUNIPER, I used the chunk method. That's good, it worked for me for a while, but what it didn't give me was a sense of how to build tension over time, or how to fit those chunks together. This time I'm writing in a more linear fashion, and it happens that the scenes I'm seeing are the next ones, not something way off down the line. So it's working this way, too, but as I go I'm getting these wonderful moments where things suddenly become clear to me - all the lessons, techniques and methods I've learned and recognize are magically inserting themselves into the work. I'm still waiting for the final scenes, and the theme is not 100% clear to me just yet, but I know it's there, spinning and twirling in the dark, growing from the embryonic to the fetal stage. One of these days I will feel it will kick.

And I know now that I'll go back to JUNIPER, when the time comes.

We all know Tetris, right? That's how I feel about JUNIPER right now, it's a Tetris game going on in the back of my head. The pieces fall, I turn them, they fit. Another piece comes. There are lines at the bottom with holes in them, I fill the holes, they fall away. And the funny thing is that it was all there the whole time. The first one-third was enough. If I strip away all the things I was trying to make happen, the things that were part of real history, the sh*t I made up is the better story. Go figger.

6 comments:

Mrs. Mitty said...

Wow, you're cruising right along on the new WIP! Good job! I've found my 'next' story (the fantasy) to be coming in more linear fashion, too. Where the western is all chunks. (Still. [g]) Interesting, eh?

Cindy said...

Hi Mrs. Mitty,

Cruising feels so good, doesn't it?
A western and a fantasy - rather an eclectic mix! You must be a kindred spirit.

So they're both moving, are they? JUNIPER came to a complete standstill on me, after five @#&^% years of slogging. (G) That's the biz, and anyway, I'm just figuring it out as I go.

Susan Adrian said...

Cindy:

Yup, that's how TMT came to me, linear but with magical "aha" moments. I'm not sure if Book 2 will be all linear or if I'll have to chunk a little more. We shall see as I progress. Congrats on the 10,000k!

Mrs. Mitty said...

Yeah, Eclectic is my middle name. [g]

The western is temporarily halted at the point of needing the chunks assembled. But first, I have to buy a new printer and print out the chunks to see just what I have and don't have, because it's in too many files to do it on the computer. But, the dog chewed my printer cable (really! and lived, happily). I needed a better printer anyway. [g]

So, in the meantime, I have a good excuse to work on the fantasy and polish up a short story and start hunting up a market for it.

Now, are you Talking About your new WIP yet, as far as category or storyline, or are you holding it close at this point? (And if you are, I totally 'get' that.)

I don't think I ever heard that info about JUNIPER, either, come to think of it. So, do tell, if you want. Or not. [g]

Cindy said...

Dear Mrs. Mitty:

Sorry to hear about your printer.

And about JUNIPER, er, thanks for asking!

JUNIPER is my historical, it's about a clairvoyant/witch. Because there have been so many changes lately, much of my established storyline has been botched, but if I do it right it will be a romantic/suspense/paranormal.

FOR KEEPS is the name of my new WIP. I will say it's got two storylines, one present day, one historical. That's all for now. (G)

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