On the March by Darlene Beck Jacobson

March has always been a month of possibilities for me.  Renewal.  A chance to begin again.  Plants that have weathered storms and survived cold and drought sprout new growth every year.  Why shouldn't I be abler to do the same with my writing? 

Regarding a WIP or a new project still fermenting in my mind, I might try to:

M aybe look at characters in a new way.  Let them have a spring awakening and rediscover their own dormant abilities. What "storms" have characters weathered?  Dig deeper into the "soil" of their lives.
A llow characters to make more mistakes.  As E B White says: "A mistake is simply another way of doing things".
R efuse to rush to the most obvious path for resolution or conflict.  It's easier to do so, but not nearly as much fun for the reader.
C hange what isn't working...no matter how hard it is to "kill" a favorite scene, plot point, or character. And chuck out those adverbs!
H ang out the "dirty laundry" in character's lives.  Air the juicy tidbits that make a reader a bit uncomfortable or show a darker side of a character.  It just might be the best path to the story you want to tell.

March forth with renewed enthusiasm for writing!
 

Comments

  1. Thanks for springtime inspiration and some great writing tips, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ooh--love the "dirty laundry" and the mistakes.

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