Writing and Walking

I had no idea what to write in this week’s post, but I’ve come to realise and believe that each week, something will pop into my head. I guess you can call it confidence, this feeling it will eventually and definitely come and I started relating that to stories. There will always be those we struggle with more than others. Maybe the words won’t flow, the story seems flat, it’s not powerful enough or sometimes you know it’s not right, but you can’t work out why.

This is why we all need an honest writing buddy, a writing group or a trusting editor to guide and point us in the right direction. Often it’s simple, maybe a change in point of view, a slashing back or a change of pace and someone else, looking at our writing with fresh eyes, can pinpoint this immediately. Sometimes it takes much longer to get the nuts and bolts in place and the planets aligning.

I believe we get too close to our stories sometimes – know them too well, have read them too often that we can no longer see their shortfalls or problems.

I have absolutely no pattern or plan in the way I write. Sometimes the idea builds easily into a story structure – conflict stares me in the face and the beginning, middle, end and storyline build around it. Other times an idea needs to sit, simmer and just be until I feel it calling me back ready to run away with it.

The best thing for me is to walk – idea or draft story literally on a piece of paper in my hand. Doing this I find that hiccups and problems seem to solve themselves – sounds crazy but they sometimes drop into the top of my head.

I’m off now for one of my walks – hiccup story in hand and I’m sure that on my return the answer will be there, knocking on my door. Walk and write, it works, I promise.