I have been listening to an interview with Lorrie Moore on "Writers on Writing," which is Barbara DeMarco-Barrett's weekly writing radio program on KUCI. She was talking about how she goes about writing her stories and novels and she said, "The author has to be a little bit surprised." It felt like she was talking to me -- throw out all those outlines!
I didn't throw my outline and Excel spreadsheet of chapters out, but I packed them back on the shelf.
Over the weekend I pulled out another half-written novel and brought it with me when I went to eat hazelnut pancakes. (I used to go to this particular restaurant for brunch on weekends with my son who is now in college. Just because he's not here doesn't mean I need to give up my weekly treat, right?) I was so happy with what I found. It's not half bad. I like the main character (yea!) and I felt myself filling up with hope and energy again.
I'm in the process of going through what I have done already, which is about 150 pages, and figuring out what else needs to be done. I have an idea of where there are gaps in the narrative but I'm trying to just remember it all rather than right it down. That doesn't seem to be a good artistic endeavor for me.
I'm happy again!
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