In the interest of blogging this and getting back to my story... An excerpt from an email I sent to DBS earlier:
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So I decided to go to the luncheonette to do some writing. Sitting alone in the house... the air just sorta vibrates, ya know? So I went to the luncheonette and I'm writing, writing away, and...
First, some back story:
I decided I want my story to have the sort of disjointed vignette quality of stories like Crash, Magnolia, Pulp Fiction, etc. Hence the text I sent asking if you knew of more stories like that. The good and bad news is that people were only able to recommend movies of that sort, and not books. Actually, one book. But like 7 movies. That's good, because maybe I can be a pioneer in that in literature. Bad, because there's very little inspiration/research I can get/do from books. So anyways, I decided that that's really what I wanted to do. I mean, how I wanted to arrange the story.
So I blog about how I have no idea what I'm doing, and I have no idea how to write, and I'm starting to think my story is bollocks. And then Xtine, bless her heart, leaves the comment that says just to write the stories, and then break them up at the end. Brilliant, and so simple. And I mean, duh. Editinggggg. Helloooo.
So yesterday afternoon, I just started writing. I just started in the middle... I mean really in the middle. I just wrote the line "... she was on a roll now." Ha. That was the first line of the session. I started on something where the character was already on a roll. And so... she was on a roll, and telling a story. 5000 words later, she's still on a roll, and I'm realizing that this is one of the main vignettes. I'm, like, writing the book and not even meaning to. I was all, holy cow, I'm writing a book.
Back to today at the luncheonette:
So, I'm writing, writing away and it hits me. I figured out my plot! I can't tell you because I haven't written it yet, and I don't want it to be diluted. But all the sudden, I have a story. A real story, with a hook and a plot and a viable "problem" to solve. There's mystery and things get worse before they get better and there are secrets the reader has to figure out.
AND, what I thought would be toughest of all! I figured out how the characters are interconnected. Yup. That was the struggle in doing the vignette thing. They all kinda ran into each other before, but I didn't know how exactly to weave their stories together. And now I DO! I know exactly how. And it's better than I thought it would be.
I mean, I'm under no illusion that I'll go through another phase of thinking the story is crap, and being at a total loss for how to actually get these characters in a room together. But I have never felt anything like this. I mean... I feel like a real writer, and like this could be a really real thing for me when it's all said and done.
And I'm so hesitant to talk about it. I mean, I'm even reconsidering sending this email (which I must have gotten over if you're reading this), because I don't want to jinx it or say it all and then let it not be true. But right now, I feel more like a real writer than I ever, ever have. I had an honest to goodness epiphany. Ha!
So that's good.
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Isn't that fantastic, everyone? I'm in the library now, which is the noisiest library I've ever been in. The librarians are very chatty cathies but they loaned me headphones and aren't telling me I can't have my bottle of water, so no biggie.
I'm caught thinking that maybe I ought to call Kristin and ask her if I can have the house for two more days, and calling Mike and asking if I can have two more days off. I feel so guilty wanting to do that, though. I mean... more money, more time off, more time away from work to catch up on later. And what if I do take the rest of the week and end up deadlocked the way I was most of the week, and just do a piddly couple thousand words?
The thing is, now I'm thinking I can actually finish this! Not the whole book, of course, not in the next two days. But NaNoWriMo. I only have 30% left to go! And I learned something today, which is that I write much better with people and noise around. Between the luncheonette and this noisy library, I've had a more successful day than I did in all the others put together, secluded in that house. But, I still think the quietude of the house, and the relative isolation from work and social things helped me to clear my mind enough so that I could really get to where I am.
I'll talk to Andrew about it. He always makes so much sense. Or... often, anyway. ha.
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