Immersed in our Stories

Something shiny has distracted me from my intended post. 

Alas, at times, I too have toiled through the bog  to finish my WIP.


For me, to move forward in my story I need to step back, reread the last chapter, tweak a few sentences, perhaps whole paragraphs, slash a little, add something else, saturate my mind in the words.

New chapter/scene/sentence rarely flow from my brain to the keyboard with the golden hues of a sunrise. 


Maybe I need different coffee. 


Like an inchworm, I need to step back, no--immerse myself into the story.

Getting from point A to point Z in my manuscript involves more than hopping on the Autobahn until I exit at my destination. 


I need the scenic route. I like to feel, see, hear, and taste the the action.


The scenic route immerses my thoughts into the lives of my character. It focuses my attention in the wholeness of my story. I look back at the path and see flora, gaze to the sides and see animals, peek straight ahead and behold glistening rays through a canopy of oak branches.


Looking back at the flora (previous chapters or scenes), I eye mutinous weeds--twining, murderous vines around daisies or an obnoxious patch of sagebrush forcing sweet Williams to surrender their lives. The weeds can be adverbs, passive voice, awkward sentence structure, etc. The sagebrush can be rabbit trails or context errors like interchanging characters, events, and  locations.


Looking to the side (the point I left my work yesterday), I question if all is as it appears. The spot on the tree may be the eye of an elk, and the branches may be the antlers. What's hiding off to the side that could be used to raise suspense in this scene?


Looking ahead, the climax and end, I don't see the sun in all its spender. It's hampered by  branches to thick in some points to allow light. Still, a ray or two eek through other branches to give a  promised hope. Is this what I see with today's step?

I am immersed in my story and unable to stop the words from flowing into a new chapter or scene


This process doesn't take long. Sherlock Holmes is not invited. Simply rewind, call attention the footprints, and fix the obvious as a warm-up to today's writing. 


One day closer to finishing a book.  :)

Once again the Alley Cats have unawares presented a theme: Press forward to the end using your voice completely immersed in your story. Then send your treasure to an expert to be polished or to a contest for critique.

Do you take the scenic route, smell the roses, breathe the fresh air, or wallow in your character's lives at times? What are your struggles in your writing today? How can we support, encourage, enlighten, entertain, energize, applaud, and fortify you? 


Nature photos taken by Mary Vee in Glacier National Park. 
Autobahn photo courtesy of Desktop Nexus Abstract