writing101 – Page 10 – Linda Nelson

Flop on the bed, that feather bed. So soft and comfy. It’s the best bed I ever slept in. By the way, I’ve never used down feather pillows either. Not like these.
These are some of the comforts I’m looking forward to at the end of the week when I go to the annual New England Conference in Burlington, Mass. I went last year for the first time, and even though I was there to learn, I’ve never had such a great time.

English: Romance icon (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It was a busy weekend none the less, with its back to back workshops. I’m sure I was in information overload by the end of that Saturday. Though, what wasn’t helping was the fact that I was suffering from a bout of writers block. That nasty thing that happens when you become afraid to finish what you’re working on.
Fear can be a terrible thing. It can stop you in your track and keep you from achieving that which you want terribly. I wanted to write in the worst way. I think I was stuck in my story. No plot twist, and I didn’t believe my story line was going to work.
I can’t remember how the plot twist came to me. It may have taken me four months after that conference before I had that ah-ha moment when the plot twist hit me.
Ah-ha moments are the best.
This time, I’m not suffering from writer’s block. I’m only struggling with coming up with the right words to say and to be able to say it the way it needs to be said. First drafts are always the worst. We stare at them and struggle with how the whole scene sounds instead of racing to the end of the story, just to get it done and out there on a white screen.
I did rather well, last week. Considering I cut nearly 4k words from that manuscript, I’m working on. Since then, I’ve only replaced 600 words. But this is how we beat that plot outline into our characters and make them do what they are supposed to be doing. Let them struggle with the outcome of their actions instead of messing with how their fate is supposed to be.
Ah, the fate of the Gods.
We writers are the Gods of the worlds we create. Our characters should be worshiping us. No wonder they sometimes meet the fate of death. One more character becomes the sacrificial lamb of the story.

“The doors are locked while the mind is set. I can’t change a thing now. It is what it will be no matter how hard I try.”
“You can’t be so sure. Things always change. I’ve seen it happen many times.”
“Well then give me an example. I’m locked out of my mind.”
“Open that window of your imagination. You know, the one that holds all the creatures, the worlds, the animals, and all that magic. Let it fly before your eyes and pretend nothing matters. Like when you were small.”
“Is that your example? Can’t you come up with something better?”
“I dare say, what more do you need than that open window of imagination. Let the wargs be droolers and the dragons breath fire. The witches need to do their dance about their little fire.



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“Ghosts fly through the night rattling window panes while the Demons stalk the dark shadows of the empty corners. Nothing can hide from them there.
“Let Kings rule and pirates bury their treasures. Wars rage over lost loves and revenge the deaths of family members.
“The worlds are made up of castles, deserts, and wild forests. Dragons fly across the skies followed by winged horses and griffons. Serpents swim about the sea with giant octopuses combing mermaids’ hair.
“Like I said, it was all there. You just need to open that eye, the one between the other two eyes. It is the one that sees it all. Use it. Look and see. It is all it needs to be. That open window is larger than a door. It is a portal and so much more.
“Worlds exist far away, in outer space across the way. Look and see all are there and you don’t need a doorway for them to be as they are. Let space ships fly through the stars and watch the planets from afar. Just know they are there when you look with your eye. You can see them just as they are.
“Little Lords play with stripped horses and bears dance in little girl dresses. Picnics are eaten on stripped blankets on grasses. Children fly kites on steep mowed hills. Little girls sing songs of twinkled stars and spoons while the kites fly up to the moon.
“So never say your door to your mind is locked. Just open that window and open your eye. See the world with purple oceans and pink skies showered in rainbows and buckets. It is all there right where you left it. Just open that eye and see the fairies spreading their dust. Imagination will take you far away and give you a smile no one takes away.”