War Wagon Update - 2-22-2007

I now have written over 12,000 words (that's just shy of 30 pages).

I hit a serious snag this past couple of weeks. Partly due to being sick (hard to focus with no energy) and partly due to not knowing where the story was going next. Add to that the fact that I felt very good about the ending of my first batch of writing, I didn't want to muck it up by adding some half-brained thought.

So I let it rest. I carried it around in a folder, thinking I would have time to edit it at the local diner I frequent for breakfast. Well, other things interjected and I never got to that point.

This morning (last night actually) I had another one of those "epiphanies" for a story idea. If was only half formed until I began to think about it and try to fit it into my existing storyline.

The process I use to flesh out my story is a bit difficult to describe though. It's like staring at a bright light before going outside in the middle of the night. Your night vision is gone directly in front of you, but if you pay attention to your peripheral vision, you'll begin to see things. It's kind of like that. You intentionally try to NOT focus on what you want to see.

Anyway, it worked.

I was able to push past my physical and mental blocks and get more written. I jumped ahead in the chronology of the story, but I'm not sure if I'll go back to cover the few months (or years) I skipped over.

I also wrote some today during lunch at work. I know I pushed myself and the story a bit further than intended, but I felt I had to "make-up" for my lack of production in the past weeks.

So, I've moved along, made progress, and things are again looking good.

Now if I can only keep the ball rolling.