When I start a new writing project, I just jump in. I have an overall idea but not particulars. This sometimes gets scary because the narrative is in the details. How do I get from here to there? It just happens as I write. I start a sentence and it leads to another. I have an idea and it leads to another. One sentence a a time, one paragraph at a time that leads to a chapter, then another. Slowly it unfolds by itself. I am led in a direction…somehow. New characters pop up…somehow. I never do a story board, never write out the plot and characters. I sit down and write and the story comes to me. It’s a scary endeavor. I am at the mercy of the cosmos. Will the ideas come? Everyday, I wonder, will they come?
For my latest book, I got inspiration from something I read (I can’t remember where) about a love story plot. But it stayed with me. As I was swimming in the lake the arc of the story came to me. It was comforting and satisfying that the conflict between my two main characters came to me and I’m encouraged now that the details will come. It’s fun to explore the plot unfolding as I write. Have it emerge from the ether as I write. It is mind-boggling. And I am grateful for this gift.
A saying I have on a paperweight: Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. I can add–Gratitude can turn sentences and paragraphs into a novel.
