"Perhaps you've
been focusing too much on that one thing."
SNARKY RESPONSE:
One thing? No one can afford to focus on only ONE thing! Multi-tasking! It's
the buzzword and definition of the modern life.
"Perhas
you've been focusing too much on that one thing."
Now that I think
about it. I have been a little too focused on that one thing and it probably is
time to set it aside for a little while.
I've been working
on a short story that I began in a workshop at RavenCon, a local science
fiction & fantasy con. They have a wonderful writing track and the workshops
always help me bring out interesting ideas and characters. This year's workshop
produced an opening I'd found intriguing but the story I wrote to go with it has
failed to make the mark. I labored hours on it and then inflicted it upon one of
my trusted critique groups. They did their job and held me accountable. Hard as
it was to admit, they saw what I felt was wrong and now I know it's time to let
go. To give it some time, so that I can come back to it with fresh eyes.
Writing requires
that we tell a story from beginning to end. That we FINISH. And then it
requires that we revise it, polish it, hone it until it shines. However,
sometimes, it's necessary to set a story aside and let it, ferment, percolate,
age.
Plus we need time away from the story to let our unconscious mind, our creative
mind, puzzle away at it while we work on other things.
That's one of the
wild and wonderful things about the creative process. It doesn't require our
undivided attention to be productive. Sometimes--often--our muse will putter
around in the dusty, dark recesses of our brain and then, when we're least
expecting it, they lob a brilliant solution or a satisfying conclusion
into our consciousness like a lightning strike or, my personal favorite, a
"clue by four."
So, I'm going to
put the mermaid story aside for a little while. Not forever, just while I
release my focus to shift it onto something else. Maybe several something elses.
What about you?
Writers: have you had a plot knot or character dilemma that you futzed with for far too long? How did
you resolve your quandary? Did you keep slogging away at it or did you pry your
unwilling fingers off so you could step back?
Non-writers: surely you've dealt with sticky wickets that plagued your waking hours and haunted your sleep? What worked for you--release or tenacity or both?
