Wednesday 4 February 2009 Free-Stylin’

The other night I was doing some editing work on a story I finished a while back (I always think it’s good practice to set a tale aside for a few days before revisiting it with fresh eyes). While I was changing a word here, a phrase there, an exchange of dialogue elsewhere and just generally dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s, something popped into my head.

It was a line from a story I’d read earlier in the day, not a particularly original or significant line, or even a memorable line, but there it was nonetheless. And it wouldn’t go away.

In the end I did the only thing I could to banish the stubborn thing; open up a new document and write about it.

I had absolutely no idea where this one was going; no characters in my head, no plot structure or story arc, no metaphor, no reason or rhyme. Nothing at all, just a single line as a launch pad… but it came, and easily too (so far, anyway). And it’s still coming, taking on shape and form more or less at will.

The point here? Well, sometimes it doesn’t hurt to do away with everything you know, or think you know, and... well, don’t think, just write. Let the words come, listen to those whispers that guide you, let that dark muse take you by the hand and lead you wherever it will. Oh, and hope that it’s a good place, a rewarding place.

It may all end in tears, but so far, so good.

2 comments:

Rebecca Nazar said...

Shhhhhhhhhh, don't jinx it :-) Just act like you're not writing a novel and before you know. . . sshhhhh.

L.R. Bonehill said...

You're right Rebecca - best not to jinx anything.