I had a good, productive night, six and half pages done in a little over two and half hours. But a strange thing happened. I had outlined what needed to happen in this chapter and the next but I got to the end of one scene and my mind just said, 'ok, I'm done for now'.
It wasn't writer's block. I still WANTED to write but something in my mind wanted to break. So I went downstairs, talking to the wife, cracked a Pepsi (which I'm limiting to just one can and that only during the 9-10 pm window for the sugar/caffeine boost) and went back upstairs to the 'Throne of Writing' (tm).
Nothing. Nothing came. I ended up playing Master of Orion for an hour instead.
Now, I'm not sure what, if anything, to do about this. I feel like I should have pushed past it, that pushing past that 'wall' is what a professional writer would have done. On the other hand, the remaining scene or scenes left in the chapter are very important. This is the last time we see the male protagonist's parents until the end of the novel. This is where they express their worries, overheard by the female protagonists. This is the first time the stakes of the journey are raised; Jacob's father has mortgaged his life's work, his farm, to equip his son and buy for him a/the magic sword. This is the scene where Jacob's mother makes the female protagonist swear several oathes; some of which will be kept and some broken. So it's an important scene.
But as soon as I 'walked away' from the story, my mind started spinning up again. I think my subconscious wanted time to digest and craft what was to come. I don't know if that's all bad. It doesn't help my page count, but it might help the story. At least, I hope it helps the story.
I don't know what the right answer is. To push on and fix problems in subsequent drafts, or wait for the 'groove' to come back? I know I can't only write when I'm 'feeling' like it. But at the same time, it seems like I should listen to my subconscious. It's a lot smarter than I am.
It wasn't writer's block. I still WANTED to write but something in my mind wanted to break. So I went downstairs, talking to the wife, cracked a Pepsi (which I'm limiting to just one can and that only during the 9-10 pm window for the sugar/caffeine boost) and went back upstairs to the 'Throne of Writing' (tm).
Nothing. Nothing came. I ended up playing Master of Orion for an hour instead.
Now, I'm not sure what, if anything, to do about this. I feel like I should have pushed past it, that pushing past that 'wall' is what a professional writer would have done. On the other hand, the remaining scene or scenes left in the chapter are very important. This is the last time we see the male protagonist's parents until the end of the novel. This is where they express their worries, overheard by the female protagonists. This is the first time the stakes of the journey are raised; Jacob's father has mortgaged his life's work, his farm, to equip his son and buy for him a/the magic sword. This is the scene where Jacob's mother makes the female protagonist swear several oathes; some of which will be kept and some broken. So it's an important scene.
But as soon as I 'walked away' from the story, my mind started spinning up again. I think my subconscious wanted time to digest and craft what was to come. I don't know if that's all bad. It doesn't help my page count, but it might help the story. At least, I hope it helps the story.
I don't know what the right answer is. To push on and fix problems in subsequent drafts, or wait for the 'groove' to come back? I know I can't only write when I'm 'feeling' like it. But at the same time, it seems like I should listen to my subconscious. It's a lot smarter than I am.
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