Well last week I came up with the great idea of doing a Poetry Friday update of my current WIP, MTLB, in poetry form. And last night I did indeed write another poem that shared what I had learned about my character from writing this week. But I no longer think I will post these to the public. It is too close to, too tied to, my story. Instead I will keep a separate, private, journal of these poems. If the book sells, it might be interesting to people to read it then. We’ll see.
I will say that it was a good writing day yesterday and that I roughed out six new poems and fine-tuned one more. Even more exciting was the unveiling of an important aspect of my character that both explains his drive and lays the foundation for the relationship between him and his father.
An interesting twist on this WIP. I write my poems in longhand. I almost always, 99% of the time, work in a green steno pad. They are easy to tuck in my purse or carry around with me. They have a place to hold my pen. And they have a hardback which makes it easy for me to write just about anywhere. But getting started with MTLB, every time I picked up a steno pad and tried to write I felt constrained. It was too small. It was too something. It wasn’t the right paper for me. So for the heck of it I picked up a yellow legal pad (which I NEVER use) and started doodling around. Before I knew it, I was writing. I have no idea why the bigger, yellower paper is working for me at the moment but I’m not one to argue with the muse when she makes her appearance. For now I will be grateful. I will also make a stop by the store on the way home for a few more big, yellow legal pads, just in case.
Funny how our muse’s ideas may not be the ones we would choose.
I know. They have minds of their own. 🙂
Clearly, this character needs more space, and maybe a bit more brightness, in order to tell his story. And/or he likes trips to the office supply store. Office supplies — woohoo!!
well he is in a pretty dark place so more brightness makes sense. And what’s not to love about office supplies???
Isn’t that neat?! Very interesting . . .
I think sometimes, we need to climb out of the familiar when starting a new piece. It’s too easy to create the same (prior) story – or feel blocked on the new one when holding onto the old patterns/practices/emotions.
Yes to climbing out of the familar but usually process is somewhat similar. This reinventing oneself all the time can be a bit frustrating. 🙂
here I’ll share
have one of my yellow notepads
I put a massage gift certificate somewhere in there
It’s for you 🙂
Thank you! Oooh…a massage. Must do that again soon.
I use a blue legal pad. 🙂 I also use specific pens for the way they flow across the paper. Whatever it takes to put that creativity in motion…
I wish you continued love and guidance from your muse for MTLB.
Thanks. Wish I knew what to feed the muse to keep her happy. I seemed to have changed pens with this book too. Sigh.
Yellow is a hot color, so maybe it’s making the creative juices flow in an all new way. If it works!…
And thanks for the heads-up on the Best of the Blogs! shout out.
Don
http://devast.blogspot.com