Play-Dough

I'd be willing to guess that many of you lovely readers who grew up in a western country played with Play-Dough as kids. A number of you are probably recalling the distinctive smell and the slightly stiff squishyness under your fingers as you read this. One of the great things about Play-Dough is that it stays malleable, and can be sculpted and re-sculpted into anything you want. You can embellish and remove, squash and reshape, or just put it all back in the jar for later.

The writing process is, in many ways, like breaking out a big ball of Play-Dough.  First of all, nothing you write is set in stone until you've published or the play is on stage or the final edit of the film is made (and even then, story elements can be given alternate explanations in sequels). You are working with a medium which makes encourages revision during the work process. Parts of the story can be cut, moved around, manipulated into a totally different form, or added as you need, all without necessitating a total do-over. Using that flexibility to its fullest allows you to explore different ideas-- if it doesn't work, it can be changed.

Second, a story, or any chunks of writing which you particularly like, can be set aside for later. It's a lot easier to cut a favourite scene that's just not working in your story if know you can put it 'back in the jar' and retrieve it when you're ready to work on it again, or have found it a home in another story.  These pieces may be art, but they're also the raw building material of something larger: the story. Remember they can be moved around, removed, and put away for later revision if that's what serves the work.

Finally, thinking about your work as 'Play-Dough' rather than some intricate work in marble allows you to relax and have fun telling a story. It's much more pleasant to work that way. Plus it allows you to be surprised by your own creativity and emotional experiences as you write.