To Write is to Wander

I enjoyed today’s writing sessions. I’m nearing the climax of the final book in the series, and the last of the details are falling into place as we near the finish. At times, the process feels slow, my imagination failing to keep up with my fingers. Moving pieces that I’ve intertwined for the last four novels have to come together like an intricate puzzle, and more often than not the pieces don’t quite line up.

Frustrating as the process can be, there’s a joy and a wonder in it. I’ve talked often enough about how I don’t really plan out my novels as I’m drafting them, and even though there are times when internet personalities almost convince me I should fully outline a novel before putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard, I fear to do so because it risks robbing me of this unique joy.

When I sit down to write a scene, I’ll usually have some vague idea of what I want to happen, but rarely more than that. Sometimes the beginning is simple enough, a mere continuation of the previous scene. Otherwise there’s a jump in time as I search for the next scene worth dramatizing. Regardless, once I start writing there’s a feeling like I’m not in control, that instead of piloting the plane, I’m in the next seat back, the first to know what’s happening. Conversations take twists I didn’t expect. Characters suffer losses I’d never thought of, and solutions appear as though by magic. My only duty is to follow the story where it leads.

Alas, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. The imagination and the muse are fickle, and in my case, often seem to forget what characters are in the scene or in one particularly haunting example, couldn’t remember if a character was even alive or dead. There are false starts, and the process of editing is often a long one, but it’s a price I’m more than willing to pay, because it’s about as close to magic as I come in my daily life.

Happy Friday, all - I hope you have a good one.