How the writing magic happens

By Liz, thawing out after a long week of freezing in the northeast!

I’m going to tell you all a little secret. 

I should be done with my book by now. 

Now, if you’ve met me, you know this is nothing new. I’m usually a little behind and racing to finish as my deadline hovers over me like a guillotine and the panic escalates just a bit more every day.

But this one in particular has really been tripping me up. 

So I was getting close to the end and I couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t finish it. As I was revising a scene that had a very minor character in it – after I had already deleted the scene and then put it back–this character suddenly took over. 

They started doing things that I never expected. They started acting and saying things that I hadn’t imagined. And it suddenly clicked. This was my killer. Not the poor, innocent person I’d been pinning the murder on all along. 

And it was the reason why I was struggling to finish the book the way I had laid it out.

This is the magic of writing. It’s annoying, sure. And the book really needs to be done, but now I have to go back and do some surgery on it. But it’s going to be way better. You know how I know that? I’m excited about it again. Before that moment, I just wanted to delete the whole thing. 

This is where we need to leave ourselves room. Even if you’re a plotter–or a semi-plotter–there is a gift in being able to have a roadmap, having an idea of where the book’s headed.

But also you have to leave room for the magic. And if I had rushed this book to the finish line and just plowed through the scenes the way I had laid it out, it probably wouldn’t be any good. Now, as I go back and do some more revising, I’m happier. More excited. Feeling good about putting it into the world. 

And it tells me that I have to keep respecting the magic of the practice.

Keep showing up at the desk, at the notebook, at the laptop, and keep doing the thing, because eventually the thing will be amazing.

Or at least in good enough shape to turn in. 

Where are you letting a little magic happen in your life? Tell me in the comments!