Mark Laporta
The only time I get really stuck is when I can't see far enough forward in a story. That used to happen frequently in the past, when I'd dive in with no advance thinking. I've since learned my lesson.
Even with an outline, I sometimes have specific plot points to reach, but haven't yet found a logical route to them. The answer for me is to map it out a few different ways until I reconnect to the emotional through line of the story. I also go deeper into the characters and their tendencies, and find a path that way.
But getting stuck can also involve being inflexible. After I've tried to introduce this or that concept several times and it still doesn't fit, I realize it may have to wait until another story. Then the minute I stop insisting on a particular solution, I often find a workable alternative.
Another part of the answer is that I don't fixate on things. The story stays fluid at all times and I remind myself that the delete key is a writer’s best friend. I have no problem ditching pages or chapters that don’t work. I focus on what moves the story forward and what makes the characters more vivid and interesting. I don't fuss over "perfection." There's enough to attend to, to keep a story logical, emotionally authentic, readable, moving and entertaining.
Above all, I don’t labor over the fine points in the first draft. I try to keep the writing as tight and on target as possible but I don’t feel the need to resolve every word in Chapter 1 before starting Chapter 2. Once I’m a few chapters in, I work at both ends of the story at once, adjusting the beginning to match insights I’ve had later, or yanking a later chapter back to align with important aspects of the opening. But I do this with a light touch, knowing I’ll be going back over the story later, to enrich, enliven and elaborate.
Even with an outline, I sometimes have specific plot points to reach, but haven't yet found a logical route to them. The answer for me is to map it out a few different ways until I reconnect to the emotional through line of the story. I also go deeper into the characters and their tendencies, and find a path that way.
But getting stuck can also involve being inflexible. After I've tried to introduce this or that concept several times and it still doesn't fit, I realize it may have to wait until another story. Then the minute I stop insisting on a particular solution, I often find a workable alternative.
Another part of the answer is that I don't fixate on things. The story stays fluid at all times and I remind myself that the delete key is a writer’s best friend. I have no problem ditching pages or chapters that don’t work. I focus on what moves the story forward and what makes the characters more vivid and interesting. I don't fuss over "perfection." There's enough to attend to, to keep a story logical, emotionally authentic, readable, moving and entertaining.
Above all, I don’t labor over the fine points in the first draft. I try to keep the writing as tight and on target as possible but I don’t feel the need to resolve every word in Chapter 1 before starting Chapter 2. Once I’m a few chapters in, I work at both ends of the story at once, adjusting the beginning to match insights I’ve had later, or yanking a later chapter back to align with important aspects of the opening. But I do this with a light touch, knowing I’ll be going back over the story later, to enrich, enliven and elaborate.
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