Thursday, September 29, 2011

Retrieving my zero draft mentality

While I was on vacation, one rainy afternoon I pulled up the draft of the first 7 chapters of the new novel I'm working on. I read through it, did a little rewriting, rethinking, but I didn't really get into it. I didn't have a big block of time, I wasn't in a situation to build any momentum, but I wanted to be back in touch with my characters and I hoped I'd have a clear idea of where to go next in the story. That didn't arrive.

Tomorrow is Writing Friday and I'm out of excuses. I've also committed to producing at least one new chapter before my writing group meets next Tuesday and tomorrow will be the day to do it. I have to admit my acquiring of an agent has set me back a little. The stakes seem higher. I find myself no longer in the writing-for-fun mindset and that's got to change, because what I need now is to retrieve my zero draft mentality. That anything goes, that it doesn't matter if I write a chapter that won't be in the final book or if I take a character down a deadend street or if the writing is marginal. I just need to get back into it and trust that the characters, my imagination, and my muse will all come through for me.

The truth is, I love to be in the middle of a writing project and I haven't been since July. I need it to happen and so tomorrow, I'm writing something, anything, to get me going again.

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