Of course, Inspiration can come from just about anything, in any place, about the oddest things. But, has inspiration ever just hit and when you sat down to write, the words poured out so fast your pages were filled with those little red and green squiggly underlines that showed all your spelling and grammar mistakes? You were so into your story that you didn’t care about making it all writerly right?
After years of setting my writing aside and putting everything else like job, young children, and housework (yeah, it’s taken a bit of a dive lately) first, when I let my mind get back to the stories and characters I loved, it all came out in a rush. It resulted in my first series, Aumelan.
I didn’t really know the proper way (if that’s the right way to put it) to do things as far as writing a book went at that point. I just wrote because I was so into the story and fell in love with my characters that I had to keep going. And it really shows in that series. Major revisions are needed to get it anywhere near publishable.
As I learned more about what made a good book good, I began to get paranoid. I found myself reading over a scene I’d just written, a paragraph, or even just a sentence and then reading it over again. The results? Frustration and partial works. And I still struggle with this.
I’ve made outlines, wrote scenes to follow those outlines, and then took the next step to revise...and this works. But I still miss the freedom I felt when I sat down and just let the inspiration run wild.
How do you handle your inspiration and writing? Is it a free flow? Or a structured development?
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7 comments:
A little of both for me I think. I outline and plot and world build, but to a certain point. Then I just let the story flow and the details make it great. I can know my characters inside and out but it's not until I get to the story - and the lines of dialogue in it - that those great lines come out. Or that great fight scene that on the outline was just a one liner "fight scene between A and B" but now comes out as an epic event! Great post!
I'm into genealogy research so, before I got too far into my first novelo, I set up my protagonist with a full family line, stories, skeletons and all. It's easier for me to write my story when I am comfortable with the characters.
I had inspiration hit one night three times in a row after I went to bed. I was just about asleep and inspiration hit so I sat up and turned on the light and wrote down my thoughts. Then I was just about asleep again and again inspiration hit. I'm sure inspiration hit again after the third time but I was probably too tired to notice. :-)
I call that 'the groove'. Wish it happened more often like that.
Sometimes a line just pops in my head. Some need to be written down right away. Others need time to stew. Often they grow into whole stories. I'm not sure where the lines come from.
I keep an idea journal, too, for things that don't get used right away - things I read or see or experience.
Ana: Thanks! I know how your stories come to life. They're great!
Gail: Wow! You really do go into detail with your characters. I dabble in genealogy and thinking about it, some of my ansetors would make great ANTAGONISTS! :D
CR: Lol! Inspiration can really cause insomnia. Smart to have a pad ready to jot them down where ever you are.
MPax: I like that. The Groove. Yeah. *The Groove*
Since I write non-fiction, inspiration isn't quite the same as it would be for someone writing fiction. But I have had inspiration hit on occasion and it certainly makes writing a lot easier. :)
Enjoyed your post and I hope you manage to get your series out that you were talking about.
Sharon
http://grandmaisawriter.blogspot.com
I've never tried writing non-fiction. To me it sounds like a huge challenge. Thanks for stopping by and commenting Sharon. :)
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