A Kelis Moment
Okay, so this is a writing process post. Nothing enlightening, I'm sure, but I had one of those writing moments today and it occurred to me to mention it. In some ways it's kinda strange how these things work.
So I was working on Acacia 2. Came to a pause. Stood up and paced the room. I had lost interest in the scene I was working on and instead had a nagging feeling I should deal with the next scene. Problem with the next scene was that I didn't know what it was. I knew it needed to be a scene removed from the main action, something that would introduce a new, complicating element to the novel that would have enormous repercussions later...
Right! So I knew what I wanted, I just didn't know 1) who was the focus of the scene, 2) where it took place, or 3) what this major plot element was!
But... for some reason I felt like if I kept pacing, kept pacing, kept pacing I'd figure it out. Why did I feel this way? Couldn't tell you. I was blank, but it was like knowing that if I just listened carefully enough I'd eventually hear whatever the sound was that I knew was there but just couldn't quite...
And it happened. Out of nowhere. Kelis. It's a Kelis scene! Aliver's old companion from Talay, the young man he grew up with. A Kelis scene in Talay... But it's not that Kelis has been in Talay. He's been away doing lots of stuff, but he's come back. He's come back for a reason. Something pulled him back. Something he had to check out for himself. Didn't know the reason, of course, but with a little more pacing...
I figured it out. Oh my... that's why Kelis is there! It's huge. It throws a ton of tension into things. I can't tell you what it is, of course, but it'll be in the book. I also can't explain why I knew that today was the day to figure this element out, but there you go. The creative process...
Glad I did that pacing. I recommend it.
So I was working on Acacia 2. Came to a pause. Stood up and paced the room. I had lost interest in the scene I was working on and instead had a nagging feeling I should deal with the next scene. Problem with the next scene was that I didn't know what it was. I knew it needed to be a scene removed from the main action, something that would introduce a new, complicating element to the novel that would have enormous repercussions later...
Right! So I knew what I wanted, I just didn't know 1) who was the focus of the scene, 2) where it took place, or 3) what this major plot element was!
But... for some reason I felt like if I kept pacing, kept pacing, kept pacing I'd figure it out. Why did I feel this way? Couldn't tell you. I was blank, but it was like knowing that if I just listened carefully enough I'd eventually hear whatever the sound was that I knew was there but just couldn't quite...
And it happened. Out of nowhere. Kelis. It's a Kelis scene! Aliver's old companion from Talay, the young man he grew up with. A Kelis scene in Talay... But it's not that Kelis has been in Talay. He's been away doing lots of stuff, but he's come back. He's come back for a reason. Something pulled him back. Something he had to check out for himself. Didn't know the reason, of course, but with a little more pacing...
I figured it out. Oh my... that's why Kelis is there! It's huge. It throws a ton of tension into things. I can't tell you what it is, of course, but it'll be in the book. I also can't explain why I knew that today was the day to figure this element out, but there you go. The creative process...
Glad I did that pacing. I recommend it.
Labels: Acacia 2, Creative Process
posted by David Anthony Durham at
8:58 PM
9 Comments:
Hehe, that's a writer's brain for you. Some of our synapses are definitely cross-wired. :)
I trust you mean that in a good way. :)
I've crossed some wires on my tv/dvd/computer in the past and the result was not good...
Hmm... but I'm not a kinesthetic, I'm a visual, so pacing might not work for me. Gazing out the windshield at the Wyoming prairie works for me. :)
I AM NOT A YOUNG MAN. I CUT MY FANTICY TEETH ON ROBERT E. HOWARD.THIS NEW DIRECTION IS ONE OF THE BERST I'VE ENCOUNTERED SINCE HOWARDS;RED NAILS
Well, it beats staring at the ceiling.
Well... I do that, too. Doesn't help quite as much, though...
Thanks for sharing your writing thoughts. I've nothing of a writer, although I write, can't help it and I always find it weird how the brain sometimes wants it a step further even though you're still wondering what's exactly behind the corner. Good to know that a professionnal meets spark of inspiration and twists of mind :D
I am always pleasantly surprised at how and when scenes come to life in a writer's mind. Some of my best have come while in the shower. I don't know whether it's the flowing water or the lack of distractions, but out of nowhere solutions to problems arise from the steam.
I like how you can put a problem in the brain pan, let it simmer, and eventually a solution will come up. I just wish I knew a way to get the process to work faster. I just spent two weeks pondering one scene, stuck myself in limboland, and then got inspiration while cleaning the gutters. (yuck). I was kinda hoping for inspiration to strike somewhere less... messy.
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