After a weekend retreat with Larry Brooks (StoryFix.com) and the authors from TARA my local RWA chapter, I think I may have the answer to being stuck. I also have to thank author, Linda Bleser who took some additional time to listen through my concerns and made a brilliant observation that caused the problem to unravel and my forward momentum to fall into place based on Larry Brook's book Story Physics.
While we were all deciding whether we were pantsers or plotters, I decided I fell somewhere in the middle. I need the freedom to plan in my head before I start, but I can't write without structure. Of all the different advice I've read, the one thing I took away from this weekend was about elevating each part of the structure to a "stellar" level (...or at least half of the points) rather than being satisfied with "good."
After years of being a reader, it's easy to fool yourself into believing you may be able to write without studying the craft, but once stuck there's nothing like knowing what you're doing to get it fixed. Hell, knowing is what helped me recognize something was wrong. Analyzing and evaluating is what helped me fix it...well, I'm starting to fix it. Next time, I'll begin with the structure and hopefully avoid this mess.
I'm off to work. I suggest you visit Larry Brooks at http://www.storyfix.com for some insightful writing advice.
Great that you got to network and hang out with fellow writers. And that they helped you past a rough spot. I'm a combo, pantser/planner too.
ReplyDeleteI love bouncing ideas off other writers and hearing their take on my own. Who says writing is a lonely job? LOL
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