embrace your inner flake

Soundtrack: The Garden by Mirah
Words: About 50... Yes, a major low, I know.


Some days, I feel completely devoted to my work in progress. To be honest, this doesn't happen often. When I'm first starting out I think all of my ideas are brilliant--then we spend more time together and I start to notice their little flaws...

WIP leaves hairs in the sink, talks with their mouth open and never puts the milk back in the sink after it makes tea. To be fair, I'm probably guilty of all these faults, too. But when you're preparing to spend a lot of time with your story, it's important that the two of you can get along.

In June, I was working on a very conceptual (that really deserves air quotes) novel about summer and seeing the future. By July, I had upgraded to--no way!--a superhero story. Aaand then, by mid-August, I switched again, this time to my current WIP, a story about loss and old ladies (um, kind of).

What I'm about to say is totally counter-intuitive and in total support of the dreaded SNI (Shiny New Idea), but I really feel like you have to be working on something else in order to have your best ideas. You have to be totally immersed in the writer-mindset in order to pick up on the little nuances of life that can become the best stories.

Man, that sounds pretentious.

I'm definitely the wrong person to be talking about this (huh, then why am I talking about this?) considering I've never finished a novel. But I wanted to share my most recent pearl of wisdom (again, picture the air quotes).

Sitting around, waiting for an idea to burst out of the subconscious just doesn't work for me. I wish it did. Some days, I pretend it does just to justify being lazy--"It's research!"

I genuinely believe that writing begets writing. You have to be out there, working your heart out, bearing your soul.

Go on, bear your soul :)

Erika