Starting to get interesting...

There's a feeling I've noticed when I write, when the tedium just disappears, the back and forth looking at notes and outlines is mostly forgotten, and the characters "come alive." I remember a long time ago hearing some authors talking about their characters doing things they didn't expect. In my ignorance when first trying to write, I couldn't understand the idea concept. After all, why would the author not know what their own creations were going to say.

I don't remember the first time it really hit me, but I've always found joy when it hits. Usually it's in conversations, and my joy is in discovering the characters that are hiding in my head, just waiting to be discovered. But there are occasions when it happens for the more descriptive/action parts.

Today, my writing began with a rather rough slog through a dialogue scene, mostly because I knew immediately following, the story was going to take a turn and start to, in effect, speed up. Normally, that sort of scene is a logistical nightmare, but in this instance, seven pages sped by, the first half-of the remainder of this chapter. I say first half because I did get to a point where I was not only finally distracted from writing, but also felt that I could actually stop and enjoy the distractions. The pace had changed to a new dynamic and the second half of the scene could be played out tomorrow when I put fingers to keyboard.

The best I can say though, and writers know the feeling, I'm enjoying what I'm writing. It sounds odd to say, after all if I'm trying to make a career as an author I should (in theory) love what I write, but there are those times in a story where you either aren't sure how the scene will play out or you have a section that you know you need to do but you really don't want to bring up, and writing feels like work rather than play. In those times, the excitement drains and it's easy to get writer's block. I'm instead quite happy and anxious, in fact, to continue the story. As dark as I know it will get, and as dark as I'm making it out to be now, I'm enjoying the story that's being told. To me, that means the story will be enjoyed by those reading it too.

David Barentine
www.wotps.com