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When My Muse Decides It Wants To Come Back

If you've read my last post, you will know that I had a form of a crisis in my WIP. Nothing seemed to be working out, nothing wanted to be changed, and it all looked like a hot mess.


But the break I took was magical. *throws sparkles*

That same night, I was able to talk out most of the problems with the hubby, and find solutions. The rest needs simple research, which I do after the pre first draft, unless I think it will effect the whole flow of the writing if I get my facts wrong. I felt like so many huge problems plagued the WIP, it was unsalvageable. The silly thing was, it wasn't any major things that needed fixing. All that was needed was a few small changes in the timeline, seasons, and shifting one mans worth and truth to something more believable. It was all easily fixable, with a few sticky notes in my journals where the changes needed to be made.

In other news, August 19 was my birthday, and I got some amazing books! I have about 15 on my to be read shelf now, but the most amazing gift was from my mother - a 50 year old copy of Black Beauty. It smells old and musty, like when I used to check out books from my local library for their summer reading program. I cried, the memories rushing back. This is what I want from my attempt to become a published author. I want to go into a library with my grandchildren and find my book(s) still on the shelf, slightly worn from many little hands flipping pages, some corners dog eared. Its the happiest memories I have, even with a generally cheerful childhood.

My writing is going strong again, and I'm hoping to finish the pre first draft by the end of August. I'm thinking of taking a break and doing some reading before transcribing all of the WIP onto my computer, when I'll be filling out and revising the whole thing as I go. I think a pause to give me some perspective could be good for me, but I worry that doing so would cause me to lose my momentum.

What do you guys suggest?



7 Comments

  1. Unknown says:

    Hi :)
    Thanks for sharing this great post.
    I think once you are done the draft at the end of August you should definitely take a break.
    Then you can see the draft with fresh eyes.
    :)
    All the best,
    @RKCharron
    xoxo

  2. rebecca says:

    I took a 3-month break from my WIP (I felt I needed to step back a little and get some balance and a new perspective) and I'm just back to working on it again. I don't know if the break affected my creativity and the flow, but I'll soon find out!

  3. I'm thinking I will take a break - all those books I've gotten recently are giving me their best puppy dog faces (surprised they can even do that lol), and I haven't read much since I started writing!

  4. Hey Brittany,

    I love the idea of writing a 'pre first draft' in notebooks, I don't think it's something I would be able to do very well (mainly because I would never type it all up afterwards) but I do believe that it would make your first draft alot stronger.

    As far as taking a break from it goes I guess that would just depend on what your next step is. Are you going to edit as you type? Or just transcribe and edit later on? With editing you do need some form of a break to provide distance, but with transcribing, not really, you just need self control.

  5. Hey Aisley! Yeah, when I'm transcribing the WIP onto my computer, I'll be revising and adding where I need to. Once I'm pretty confident that the story is complete fleshed out, with muscle and bones and skin, I'll trim the fat. I'd rather have a looong manuscript that I can cut stuff out of than have to try and fill it out again.

    I'm **thisclose** to being done with the pre first draft, so I'll refresh with some reading. Maybe not a whole week, but definitely at least a day or two.

    Thanks for the comments everyone!

  6. Unknown says:

    Wow, old books! I love 'em!

    It never ceases to amaze me how valuable a break can be. Sometimes we push our conscious minds until there's nothing left. A well-timed break (even one of only a few hours) can rejuvenate our brain juices. Almost without fail, I'll come back to a tricky piece after taking a break and find the answer staring me in the face.

  7. Hey K.M. good to see you here!

    Yeah, I've been sorta slowing down on my writing, and it may be because its weird finishing off a story, even if its not polished. But I think it may be because my muse is begging for a breather. I'll keep going until its done - should finish by wednesday. Then a break for some recreational reading!

    Thanks for stopping by!

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