Perpetual Ruminations

In Need of a Cave (or isolated cabin)

I just want to get a short entry in here before I go back to work on my latest story. It's been pretty hit and miss writing in here and I know if I work on the story, I'll likely forget to log in here for my journal. I'm getting close to the finish, but that doesn't mean much since it's developing while I write.

I just read a message from NaNo about this kind of writing; if you use a laid out and organized outline and follow it, or if you just wing it and start writing, making it up as you go. Me, I'm a cross between the two it seems. I can't just start writing, I have to have a basic plan of action, the basic characters, and some kind of idea what the ending will be. I don't have to know for certain, just a general idea of the ending will do.

What kind of writer am I, then? Well, I need to know a basic story line, something I can usually store in my head with a few notes scratched into my notebook. But, other times I like to write up a couple paragraphs about the story plan, especially if I am not going to start writing right away. This is the case for my next story, I got a good idea yesterday but don't want to get into until after I finish this one, so I wrote out, scribble describes it better, a couple paragraphs of the most basic story outline. This time the outline includes how I want to start my story, the general plot of it, and a basic ending. From here I can just work on developing details so it makes sense and captures the reader.

Most often, however, I don't have as much when I start. I may have  the general plot idea, but have to work up a beginning to get me there. Other times I may have a basic beginning and generalized plot, but no idea of what to end with. Yet other times, I may have the plot figured out and how it should end, or a beginning and end, but nothing to connect them. In these cases, whatever is missing just seems to develop while I write about what I do have. In fact, once I have the beginning started in detail and a general idea where I want to go, either by plot or ending, the rest is just made up while I write. In all cases, no matter how developed my idea is, it changes as I write and new ideas or changes to existing ones come along. Like everyone else, I also have those areas that seem good until they are put into the content of the rest of the story, then don't fit right. So, there is sometimes going back and changing something to make it all work together.

No matter how it works out, there is one thing that is always the same. Once I start writing I get lost within my own mind and forget to eat, get up and stretch, and am fully unaware of things around me. Of course, if the phone rings or the dogs bark, it will seep through after about a minute and pull me out. If I can get back to the story, even if it is just going over it in my head while I take the dogs out, I'm fine and right back into writing. But, if it requires me to focus on something else or goes on too long, I have difficulty getting back. Oh, and if there are too many int eruptions -- lets just say frustration only makes it more impossible to write.


When Gotham City called , Batman and Robin jumped into action. Quick, to the Bat Cave! They were suited up and ready to go do their thing. That's what I need, well something similar. When writing calls, "Quick, to the writing cave! Then I can suit up in my soft pj's and fuzzy slippers and hit the keypad.