Writing is a strange beast. It comes with blocks to impede progress, characters who will wake you up in the middle of the night to chat about a book you haven't even developed a concept for yet, a constant form a stress, and the greatest escape imaginable. I used to be one of those writers who would say I was going to write as soon as everything was set up perfectly and I had inspiration. Then nothing could stop me. What a joke that was.
When I took on the challenge of Nanowrimo eight years ago I was sure I knew how the story would play out. Never Give Up had been weighing on my mind for the better part of a decade and my outline was ready to go. Were things aligned perfectly? Definitely not. Was the inspiration lamp burning as bright as the north star? Hardly. I flailed my way through page after page as I chased a word count that at times seemed overwhelming and ended up so far off script from my outline I ended up throwing it away halfway through the month. I was able to do something I had never experienced in my entire life, I tapped into the characters themselves and just let the story flow.
It didn't matter if the television was on in the next room, I could put head phones and on and play music associated with my story. I didn't care if I had a perfectly organized office since I would crack open the laptop and write wherever and whenever I had time in order to get my words in. I didn't focus on the proper word choices or think about editing because I was under a time crunch. That part could come later. It was just about the words.
When Nano ended that year I was elated. Even more though, I was in shock. I had finished my story. I finished it and it turned out to be a completely different story than I expected. Even the ending changed form my original plan. I began working on the editing and revising while sending it out for agents. I also began my rejection collection at that time. It took years before I had that story published but I learned a great deal along the way.
The most important was that waiting for everything to be perfect and inspiration to strike is just a fancy excuse. I trained myself quickly to be able to sit down anywhere to write. it might take a few minutes to wake the characters up but when I get in the zone I can write thousands of words without realizing I am anywhere else but the world I have created. When I need an escape from the real world now I can simply open one of my book files then let the story cary me away. It is better than drinking away my problems (at least for me), and right now I could use all the escape I can get my hands on. Looks like I will be gracing the coffee shop with my characters as friends for awhile until things in the real world calm down again.
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