Sometimes ideas need to percolate

Editing once again is the topic. There are times when you know your editor is correct about the need to remove a non P.O.V. character from a scene but you originally had them in the scene for a specific reason, which has been debunked by said editor. While you charge directly into the scene and start deleting you discover that it is not so easy to just delete the character. You are now so frustrated that you’ve spent the last two days trying to figure out how to rewrite the scene and you’ve gotten nothing accomplished. You need to get past this road block that has gotten larger by the hour.  The pressure is on and it is burying you.

Sometimes you have to let go and let the ideas percolate a bit. You need to set the manuscript aside and go read something entirely different – I’m reading a slutty, historical romance with all its “silliness” and over-written-heart-pounding, intimate descriptions. It’s been fun. I’ve smiled. I’ve laughed. I’ve escaped. Most importantly, I’ve let my subconscious work on my problem.

I went to bed last night asking the characters to help me. This morning in the shower (dreams and water often combine to get my imagination rolling in the correct direction), I discovered the solution.

During those two days of frustration I had packed a lot into the scene’s rewrites, trying all sorts of manipulations but nothing seemed to fit. I was digging the hole deeper (yes, I know that’s a cliche, but it works). By climbing out of the hole and doing something different to escape the self applied pressure, I allowed the characters to come up with a solution in my subconscious. You should know that my characters often pester me in dreams. No, I don’t believe I’m crazy because they really do help. I just have to be patient until they are ready to show me what they think will happen. I stopped the digging so I could calm down and hear what they had to say.

I likened the experience to making coffee. You can’t make it without grinding up the beans (your ideas) and putting them into a strainer. Then you have to pour the hot water over the grounds and you have to give the water time to flow over and through each grain, lifting out the best of each to color and flavor the water – That’s the percolation part. The results are then released into the mug (your brain) for you to enjoy. Savor the results because you now have the correct idea on how to proceed.

[image error]Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

The next time you have a serious stumbling block (this is not writer’s block), you should put the draft away and go do something different – allow your subconscious to percolate the perfect mug of coffee for you.  I’m off to savor my mug of hot coffee and get back to work. Are you?