I am supposed to be working on one project. Laser focused on getting one thing ready for rejection.
My muse has ADD.
I’m stuck on a pivotal scene: the meet-cute. I’ve been stuck on this scene for a week. My muse has provided me with the following interesting, but not-particularly-helpful-at-this-moment information:
- Josie is a good character name. (Not for the story I’m working on, but just in general.)
- Ooh, how about a murder mystery where one of the scenes involves a snake? (I’m terrified of snakes, but I admit, it’s a good scene.)
- Aren’t the fall colors gorgeous? Don’t you have a story that takes place in the fall? How’s that one going?
The meet-cute scene is still unwritten.
I know that these thoughts and ideas are coming up because my creative energy is growing and strengthening. So I write the notes in the story files and try to keep moving.
But boy, oh boy, do I need to write this meet-cute scene!
In the midst of all of that, there were still some lessons learned this weekend. Lesson #1 (or #3, if we’re counting the lessons from last weekend): Not all of my writing will be done on the computer.
My process involves a mix of long-hand writing and computer writing. And while I sometimes (read: always) wish that I could skip the long-hand part and just start typing, I write better when I follow my process. Both reveal parts of the story that I didn’t even know but I need to do both, in order to get a “finished” product that I like.
Lesson #2 (or #4): Procrastination is a form of perfectionism.
“If I’d just have had the time, this would have been good.”
This is an excuse and gives perfectionists an out.
But I don’t have time for excuses.