When Life is a Time Thief
What happens when life becomes a time thief? When life gets in the way and your writing time is stolen? The most important thing is to keep the stories simmering, don’t let them get entirely cold. It might not be possible to keep up with everything at times. (My blog went dormant and it seemed that I didn’t have any time to write while I helped take care of my grandmother after my mom was in an accident and broke several bones.)
But our characters need to stay warm and alive. They need to continue breathing and speaking to us from time to time. If they go completely comatose, then when we try to revive them, they are disoriented and have memory lapses. This may cause inconsistencies in the story or in the character themselves. It could lead to bigger problems and major editing headaches.
How can we prevent this type of crisis when writing time becomes elusive? The answer is based on the oldest type of magic. Love. As writers, we have a love for writing, a love for the process, a love for our characters. That love is enough to keep them alive if we use it wisely:
1. Keep a writing journal with you at all times, even if you don’t have time to write, you have time to jot down a note or two. It takes less time than making a shopping list. For example, I found a note about one of my stories that simply read, Italicize mc’s thoughts and another note that said, “invoke curse here.” I know that won’t make sense to anyone else, but it was all I needed to keep my story alive and moving forward in my head.
2. Read your own story. Hemingway said “…read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.” He read his own work every day. Even if you don’t have time to write, read it. Keep it fresh as possible then let it simmer in your imagination and see what happens.
3. Send off whatever you have written to a few trusted friends that will read it and respond. When you don’t have time to write, someone else reading your work is enough to keep it alive. The love can come from other people, your “first responders.”
4. Sketch a picture of your character while you’re stuck in traffic or sitting in the waiting room. It doesn’t matter if the face of your character is in pen or pencil, on the back of an envelope, or in the margins of your manuscript, or in the palm of your hand.
5. Extend your shower by three minutes. Use those three minutes to relax and meditate. If your story has been simmering properly, then your characters will use those three minutes to their advantage. They will bubble to the surface from your subconscious, visit you, and tell you what has been happening to them while you were away. Make notes about what they said as soon as possible.
But our characters need to stay warm and alive. They need to continue breathing and speaking to us from time to time. If they go completely comatose, then when we try to revive them, they are disoriented and have memory lapses. This may cause inconsistencies in the story or in the character themselves. It could lead to bigger problems and major editing headaches.
How can we prevent this type of crisis when writing time becomes elusive? The answer is based on the oldest type of magic. Love. As writers, we have a love for writing, a love for the process, a love for our characters. That love is enough to keep them alive if we use it wisely:
1. Keep a writing journal with you at all times, even if you don’t have time to write, you have time to jot down a note or two. It takes less time than making a shopping list. For example, I found a note about one of my stories that simply read, Italicize mc’s thoughts and another note that said, “invoke curse here.” I know that won’t make sense to anyone else, but it was all I needed to keep my story alive and moving forward in my head.
2. Read your own story. Hemingway said “…read what you have written and, as you always stop when you know what is going to happen next, you go on from there.” He read his own work every day. Even if you don’t have time to write, read it. Keep it fresh as possible then let it simmer in your imagination and see what happens.
3. Send off whatever you have written to a few trusted friends that will read it and respond. When you don’t have time to write, someone else reading your work is enough to keep it alive. The love can come from other people, your “first responders.”
4. Sketch a picture of your character while you’re stuck in traffic or sitting in the waiting room. It doesn’t matter if the face of your character is in pen or pencil, on the back of an envelope, or in the margins of your manuscript, or in the palm of your hand.
5. Extend your shower by three minutes. Use those three minutes to relax and meditate. If your story has been simmering properly, then your characters will use those three minutes to their advantage. They will bubble to the surface from your subconscious, visit you, and tell you what has been happening to them while you were away. Make notes about what they said as soon as possible.
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The Write Magic
The Write Magic is a powerful source for supernatural writers of all types to learn more about the art of creating worlds and characters out of thin air, using nothing but words and imagination.
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