You’ve finished several drafts, gone back
to the beginning, determined whether the plot makes sense, learned about your
characters backgrounds and kept them near you throughout the day, checked the
time line, sentence structure and spelling, and yes—it all makes sense.
But...something is off, you know you’ve missed a vital element somewhere in
your story—what do you do now?
Think about the new narrative before you
go to sleep? I’ve woken up and there it is—everything falls into place. Decide
to cook something you’ve never cooked before? Sure. Why not? It can take your
mind off your trouble for awhile and then you can begin again. If the answer comes
when you’re cooking and you forget to put in several ingredients, you can always
call for a pizza. Exercise? Ride a bike, touch your toes, take a hike, or run
around the block? You trip on an uneven bit of pavement and the answer to the
problem with your story pops into your mind as you lay sprawled on the sidewalk—who
cares about the few scrapes and bruises? Band-Aids and antiseptic and you’re
back to the computer. The dog wants to walk—a perfect time to think. While he
takes the time to “smell the roses,” you realize the answer is obvious. “Sorry,
pup, we’re going home, I’ll make it up to you later.”
Have you found solutions to a writing
dilemma in an unlikely setting?
Bests,
Elise
