In last week’s exciting installment, I had mentioned that I had just started drafting my Halloween story. Then a funny thing happened: I realized that I didn’t have it yet. I had a concept I liked, and a couple of characters, but I didn’t have the story. So I went back into dream time and started making more notes.
And more notes.
And still more notes.
I kept hoping that I would find my plot and get back to drafting, but instead I just made more notes, coming up with story ideas and then discarding them. I would finish a session of note-making convinced that I had settled on a direction and was ready to go. But come the next day, I would realize I still wasn’t happy with it and go back to the drawing board. I started engaged in my avoidance behaviors, allowing myself to be distracted too easily.
Instead of getting down on myself–my typical response–I decided to let myself off the hook a little, meaning I wouldn’t allow myself to sweat the deadline on this one. If the story didn’t come in time, it didn’t come. If I had to move on to a different project, then I would move on. I guess I got a little Zen. Part of me knew, though, that the story was in there somewhere.
And so it was that after about three or four plots and various permutations thereof, I found the one I wanted, and am now ready to return to drafting.
I think. Maybe.
We’ll see.
No updates for Write Club, and I’m out.
