Reaching for the End of a Story

It has been a nerve wrecking time. Taking stock of the big picture and re-arranging the important writing space. Over the last two weeks I have upgraded from the favourite armchair to a desk. I may yet haul my favourite armchair in here. The real reason for the move was to get some designated shelf space. To set up one location to find useful references. You see I am part way through writing the fourth novel in a series. It has survived a few moves and other projects in between. Now I want to give it some much needed attention.

Making a Project a Priority

After re-visiting a couple of how to write faster books for the second time. There has been a slow albeit cumbersome embrace of plotting. Or atleast the fact that a little bit of plotting helps. The main tip has been to spend five minutes writing down ideas before you write. It sort of works, on one occasion I wrote down the same amount of words for the idea as well as the scene. On another occasion I wrote five times as many words for the scene. I would love to be the person who could write down ideas and get five times as many words every time. That would be too easy, and no where near as much fun.

Finding a Moment of Calm

There is always guaranteed to be an interuption to the writing schedule. I have a few every year. It’s important to note what works best for you. So when everything settles down again you know where to start. Finding that little piece of calm to write always feels like a victory. Even if it is only one hundred words. That is more than what I began with. Sometimes a moment will be at an odd time and a notebook or a place to save an idea is handy. It beats having to remember it later and provides something to add to.

Reflection

There is one thing about plotting, it can always change. Half the time writing down ideas leads to completely different directions. You never know where it might lead, what matters most is that it helped. Writing is full of ups and downs, going sideways and in circles. It’s a journey full of interesting challenges all the way to end.