Saturday, July 10, 2010

Sleep On It

This was an intense writing week for me. I had these three chapters that were driving me bonkers! I tried all kinds of stuff to make them work. All I want is my plot threads to be totally unified, to draw the reader in and keep them interested. Is that asking so much? Instead of moving forward, I kept muddying the water of the story. Instead, it really started getting wholly confusing. How annoying is that?

The plot tied in knots, so convoluted. I made changes that were bending the manuscript out of discern able shape. I'd have to write the whole thing again. Erk. I called my sister and explained to her all of it. How I had all these good dijointed, wonderful stuff -- great scenes, no glue. She laughed and told me to simplify. I threw up my hands and went to bed, grumbling.

When I woke up in the morning, and the fog was gone and I knew exactly what to do. Something about sleep helps unravel tangles of thought. So if you are backed into a corner in your work and are not sure how to proceed, find a friend and explain the ins and outs of the problem, not to solve it but get in the open so you can see it better. Then sleep on it. What happens in the morning? Things are clear. Yay!

Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes. Get things moving forward at a good pace. Seize the day.

This week's doodle is "A Pig Flies".



A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book.Irish Proverb

5 comments:

Janet Lee Carey said...

Hey Molly,
So glad talking it out and sleep did the trick. This works for me too. If I'm stuck in the daytime, I can go on a walk, then take a brief nap and let my subconscious storyteller breathe (inspire) solutions.
~From this opening begin
The only way out is in~ from The Beast of Noor . . .

Vijaya said...

Molly, I wouldn't be a writer without my naps ... and it is good to "talk" the story ...

Molly/Cece said...

I love that I am involved in a profession that napping is considered a serious tool. Love it.

jesse joshua watson said...

Pig Flies... off the page and into my heart. Wicked Rad Pig, Molly.

Molly/Cece said...

Thanks, Jesse, I have a deep connection with gravity defying critters.