The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. For more about IWSG, see below!
This month, the optional question is: When you are working on a story, what inspires you?
This question is both easy and difficult, for we all have writing projects that stall from time to time.
What inspires me generally speaking is unpredictable. I may be reading an article in National Geographic and a new-to-me fact catches my attention. Or visiting a bookstore and a book begs to be taken home because, of course, it has a whaling ship on the cover. Maybe that's the start of research for the fifth in the 'standing stones' series. So, I could say the beginning and intermediate sparks come from research, both focused and at random.
When I'm working on a particular story, my characters seem to lead the way. Even when I don't know them well or understand them. Their thoughts guide me. That sounds funny, but I really 'hear' their dialogue as I'm working away on the keyboard.
Lately, my current story did simply stop. You see, I do a daily word count. I discovered this was getting in the way of developing the story because unconsciously, I wanted to make that daily goal of 400-500 words. So, I kept NOT deleting words. The result? A cumbersome draft. A story that went in unintended directions.
My much appreciated writing partner said, "Write the story you love. Don't worry about word count."
Lesson learned: Celebrate deleting words as part of the writing process! I may go from 40K to 30K this next week, but I will persevere. And I think my characters will be happy. Me too!
Polar Bear by Markus Kammermann from Pixabay
More about the Insecure Writer's Support Group: The Insecure Writer's Support Group provides a rich resources for writers at every stage, from writing tips, to newsletters, to lists of additional resources on self-publishing, marketing, and more. To prompt our writing and build a community of writers, IWSG also posts a challenge question each month. As the guidelines say:
Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling.
The awesome co-hosts for the May 3 posting of the IWSG are Joylene Nowell Butler, Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Meka James, Victoria Marie Lees, and M Louise Barbour!Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
I never thought of that unintended consequence of having a daily word count. Glad your writer friend gave you such good advice.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I like what you said about celebrating deleting words! As I'm about to enter into editing a 90k word draft, that I'm hoping to cut down to around 75k, I'm going to have to do a lot of that! And I admit I feel a bit nervous about it! - Rosie
ReplyDeleteBeth! So lovely to see you're still blogging (and more so, still writing). Thank you for the reminder that wordcounts aren't the be-all and end-a; of creating a story.
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