Plodding

Yesterday was mainly spent in one corner of my room by my computer, perched uncomfortably on the bed, typing and puzzling over chapter seven. I am pleased to report that after ten hours, I finally got to the point where I am happy with it… for now (she says ominously). There are still a couple of sticky spots where I think the writing could be better, but the structure is now in place, and I’ll be able to print it out soon and work on it that way. Phew! Onto chapter eight!

I also keep eying up the rest of the story… got a feeling a few chapters will be redundant by the time I get to them. It is actually a nice problem to have – too much writing! Sadly I like all of it (mostly) but it has to go. What I normally do is siphon off those extraneous words and then save them elsewhere, if I really like them they may materialise in another guise somewhere else. The thing I have to keep in mind utmost and foremost is the plot, and make sure that every strand of story enhances the main point of telling it!

I was thinking yesterday what I would do if I wasn’t writing this story. For a wild wonderful moment I thought about how I could go out for a walk without feeling guilty! Watch television! Socialise! Paint a picture! And then I realised that actually I would still be sitting here writing out the next idea. I relax by writing… even though it drives me insane. So how does that work then? I shall be a chilled fruit-loop.

The next idea… oh yes, there are a few brewing. I find myself daydreaming about them on the tube, but it is pointless at the moment as there is only room in my head for a few things. But once the idea is there it doesn’t go away. I embellish it here and there, like telling myself a well-loved bedtime story, until my thoughts run down well-beaten grooves and I can revisit the plot from any point and it still makes sense. Then I usually start writing it down.

But back to chapter eight… It is mostly set in 1939 at a dance, and gives a glimpse of the characters early on in their lives. I am hopeful there is not too much to do… but I said that last time, didn’t I?