Falling into ideas

Ten years later, I look back at this post with fondness and a little chuckle...maybe even a ha-ha! (You'll get it when you read it.) And yes, perhaps a bit of nostalgia. I've fallen into many ideas since then, but perhaps not as many as I would have predicted back then. Why not? The caution to "watch your step" that comes with growing older? That may seem possible when you read the reflections of this "young" college student, but I was in my mid-forties at that time, which makes me now...well, never mind. 

The advice imparted though, I think, is sound. Embrace the ordinary and turn it into the extraordinary! 

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Did you know...a landscape feature that is a deep trench abutting a wall is called a Ha-Ha?  I didn't know that, but I read about these "sunken fences" recently in this wonderful blog post at the site Jane Austen's World: Maintaining the grounds of a landed British estate.  Apparently, as the post informs, it is so-named "because, as the myth goes, this landscape feature was so well hidden that an unsuspecting visitor would blurt out “ha-ha!” before falling into the trench." 

Hmm.  Really?  That's what he (or she) would say?  Oh, I think not.  I imagine I would say something other than "ha-ha!" if I fell into a trench!  In fact, I know exactly what would be said because...well, trust me, I just know.  Not only can I identify with that "unsuspecting visitor," I am that walking (and then not!) disaster who would fall into a trench. 

A Year-End Grab Bag of Writing Miscellany

Grab bag:  1) a collection of miscellaneous things; 2) a bag from which gifts are drawn at random.

At year end we often reflect on what we accomplished over the year.  And, rightly so, we celebrate the goals and milestones we have finished.  But in-between the milestones we all have amassed a collection of miscellaneous things -- a grab bag of ideas and projects that have been started and stopped, or perhaps regretfully discarded along the way.  In the end, these discarded ideas are like handfuls of mismatched costume jewelry.  They are pretty to look at and sparkle like the real thing if the light catches them just so.

This, in fact, is how I wind up with many unfinished blog posts!  The light catches the idea and then it fades before something else catches my eye.  But maybe, just maybe...you might catch a glimmer.

Grab Bag Item # 1:  A dose of positivity.

We pretty much know that writers need a  regular dose of positivity.   Here are lots of ways to assure and reassure ourselves we can and will manage both the must-do and want-to-to items on the horizon.  These are soooo easy, you might not even realize you're doing them.  But stop doing them and there might be trouble.  So for a dose of stating the obvious...

1.  Think small.  Whether you have a physical list or a mental list of what's coming up, break it down further. I've heard this before, and  this is item #1 in a great post at The Positivity Blog: Mark Twain’s Guide to Living an Awesome Life: 7 Essential Tips by Henrik Edberg, who suggests remembering Mark Twain's advice:

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.”

The other six tips are pretty good too. 

For thinking small, I tell myself it's like folding my entire "list" like an accordion to show the first item and "hiding" the rest from my view.  The week ahead or the whole project will unfold.

2.  Sleep.  Yes, really.  It sounds obvious, but it's hard to think of one thing that will slow you down more than lack of sleep.  Try for that eight hours a night. 

3.  Let your dreams do some of the work.   This one's little less obvious than sleep.  You'll either be on board with this idea or think it sounds kooky. But give it a try. If something is not coming easy, tell yourself to "sleep on it."  Sometimes when I am frustrated with trying to memorize or grasp concepts (or work out plots) I just give in (not the same as giving up).  After sleeping on it, I'm often amazed at how much is within my grasp the next day of what confused and/or eluded me only yesterday.

4.  Double-dip.  This is the best one.  You can't not like getting a 2 for 1 deal.  Like sleeping and dreaming.

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Hmm...I must have taken a nap at this point.

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Grab Bag Item #2:  The Federalist Era (historical post)

Of course, I adore the Regency setting and all things English, but I hadn't quite realized the extent of how drawn I was to the time period until I found myself working the style of the early 19th century into my contemporary American setting.  Both the Regency and Federalist eras occur roughly at the same time, occurring on different sides of the pond.

Here is a description of the Federalist era.  According to an exhibit item description from the Star of the Republic Museum:

The Federal style was developed when the Federalist Party led the American government between 1790 and 1828. Federal-style furniture emphasizes straight lines and simple ornament. It tends to be light and delicate with Neoclassical elements, such as fluted or reeded tapering legs, classical figures, and eagle ornaments.

 I thought I'd share some of my research (okay, some days I just like to look at pretty pictures) on my setting for my work in progress Ghost of a Promise.  In working on this contemporary story, my Pinterest board on Federalist Era Architecture and Interiors is a collection of my visual inspirations for the suburban Washington, D.C. house my characters renovate. 

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I believe I became distracted looking at pretty pictures!

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Grab Bag Item #3:  Immortality brainstorming questions, questions, questions...

Age.  Yes, just three little letters. A-G-E. We try to ignore it, but at some point (if only by the mirror) we all get reminded that time has passed.  But what if you are immortal?   I wondered about this and other hypotheticals when I envisioned an immortal character.   

The downside of immortality:

1)  Boredom.  Well, really.  Eventually haven't you seen it all?  No wonder immortals get into mischief and create mischief!  (Thinking of the mythological gods.)

2)  Immortality could be seen as a curse.  Yes, it would seem that way if you outlived your loved ones.

How much does the outside affect who you are on the inside?  Because one looks eternally young, does this necessarily mean a character relate to youthful pursuits?  Or does he/she become an old soul in a young body?  Or would how others respond to his/her youthful appearance, in turn, keep him/her young in mind as well as body?

How about the differences of being born an immortal vs. becoming an immortal?

If born an immortal, it's in his/her genes.  Immortality, and for that matter, mortality, would be an inheritable trait?  For example, if a character's father is an immortal and her mother is mortal.  What are the chances she would be either?  How might a character "lose" immortality?


What if...a character doesn't know if she is immortal? 

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I think I got a headache.  But I will revisit this one!

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I hope you enjoyed  a few items from my "grab bag" of miscellaneous ideas.  What would be in your end of year "grab bag?"

To write or not to write, that is the question (not to ponder too long)

What can strike terror in the heart of a writer who wishes for a day to write?  Getting a day to write.  Your wish is granted...now GO! 

Ugh.  My Muse balks at scheduled creativity, so I fully expect that when a day to write happens, it's going to be hard to jump into the story.  I need a warm-up, but finding the right warm-up can tricky.  Brainstorming or some form of writing prompt can fit that requirement, but it can often seem counter intuitive to my ideas of time efficiency when it seems unrelated to working on a particular story.  I also worry that I'll use up my energy and time just getting organized or in the mood.  But once in while I give it a try and just hope it inspires instead of consumes.  And by consume, I don't just mean devouring my time for the day.  I could also wind up chasing an entirely new story idea. 

Today, for instance, I stalled diving into the story by checking out what happened on this day in history.   This might seem more like a writing avoidance, but I had a plan, of sorts, to keep myself from getting derailed.  Actually, more like a guideline.

I must keep in mind my goal to link something to the story in progress.

That "something" isn't as vague as it sounds.  What I look for and find inspiring from historical events is that, from the perspective of the people involved, it was a life changing day.  Something happened on this day in history that was important...to someone. And it just might be important, in an "I'll know it when I see it" kind of way to my character.

For instance, I found out that on this day in history the Mississippi River flowed backwards  in 1811-1812 following an earthquake in Missouri.  Well, the source may be in error and by other accounts the date was actually December 16th, not November 16th, but that's not really the point.  What is the point is that it's an interesting factoid that struck my fancy.  Can you imagine what it must have been like to be on a riverboat when the current suddenly changed?  By an eyewitness account, "In a moment, so great a wave come up the river that I never seen one like it at sea."

The link to my writing:  I have a series of time traveling guardian angels.  For these characters,  I have a bit of a morbid fascination for finding interesting historical natural disasters (or other disasters) to use in the plot.  It might be a minor scene or something more.  What sort of characters might be on that riverboat?  Who needs rescuing on this day?

I could stop there.  I thought I probably should stop there because, even though this does link to my writing, it's a future story that is out-competing the story in progress I intended to work on.  But I'm not ready to attend to conflicts in progress yet and so another factoid catches my eye. November 16th, it so happens, falls on the eve of the Elizabethan Age.  The next day, on November 17th, 1558,  25-year-old Elizabeth was proclaimed queen.  Again, my imagination takes flight.  What must that day before have been like?  Did she accept and welcome her fate?  Or did she wish for a different life as she stood for the final fitting of her coronation gown?  And it's not such a great leap to ponder other "day before" or even "hour before" situations.  What about before a wedding?  What if the bride didn't want to marry?  What if she feels like only a natural disaster can change her fate in the final hour?

And in a final leap, how about this.  What if, in a "truth is stranger than fiction" kind of twist, our reluctant bride is in an arranged marriage situation, or literally a shotgun wedding held on a riverboat on the day the water suddenly flowed backwards?  It might make for an interesting escape from fate! 

 Yay, I have a story idea!  Darn, I have another story idea.  (Only a writer understands the dilemma!)

 Has my brainstorming backfired once again?  Possibly, but with a little thought I realize I haven't been derailed by distraction.  Those little factoids simply paved the way to where I wanted to go.   Even if the situations don't match and the characters are different, I've arrived at the emotions I wasn't ready to jump into when I started the day.  My hero does, in fact want to escape his fate.  In hindsight, it's forgivable if a writer doesn't feel up to diving into such a task, don't you think?  Sometimes we need to find a way to warm up to the process and let it take its course. 

If you want to read more about the real life historical event of the Mississippi flowing backwards, here's a link.

From the page: Mississippi River ran backward

Worthwhile Distractions

The irony doesn't pass me by that the current WIP may have started as a distraction. Yes, it  started out as an usurper of the star of the show, irrisistable as a new and shiny discovery before it too developed growing pains...or maybe sprained an ankle!  And there are plenty of other worthwhile distractions waiting in the wings.

I thought about this a lot while reading Donna Cummings' wonderful blog post "The Lure of the Other WIP."  I can relate and I love to hear how other writers manage to nurture the current WIP to completion while also figuring out what to do with incoming new ideas.

To me, it can feel like a powerful force like natural selection is at work to favor the new idea, and it's rather awe inspiring to think that every finished story has a writer who made the commitment to stick with the WIP, no matter what.  Some do it with one WIP at a time, start to finish, while others let the new ideas develop into multiple WIPs and work on them simultaneously.

Which way is the right way?  Or the more realistic question may be, haven't I learned by now not to ask? This is one of those writing process questions with multiple answers.  Every writer will answer differently.  Heck, for many writers, myself included, the method changes from story to story.  The options are wide open.