As reported a few days ago, it's been a tough week, one where I couldn't seem to make any kind of forward motion on the work in progress. For every page I'd write, I'd rip out and dispose of two, and the decent dribs and drabs remained stubbornly disjointed, with gaps I couldn't figure how to close.
Finally, after days and days of this, I figured out I'd skipped a critical "bridge" scene in the preceding chapter. After going back and rewriting it, I've finally broken the log jam. (Cue "The Hallelujah Chorus.")
Sure enough, by bringing work to a complete halt, my subconscious was letting me know I'd forgotten something crucial and no amount of grinding was going to solve the problem. Finally, yesterday, I took the day off to go shopping, blab on the phone, play with the dog (the aptly-named Zippy's always up for a vigorous round of rough-housing), and have dinner out with my husband.
And lo and behold, this morning I knew what I needed. I wrote the bridge scene, came up with a better idea for the new chapter, and basically kicked butt and took names.
As Monty Python so perfectly put it, "And there was much rejoicing."
The next time you're really stuck, go ahead and try a day off. It'll make the spouse, the kids, the pooch happy, and by the time you're back to work, your hard-working subconscious may have solved the problem for you.
Finally, after days and days of this, I figured out I'd skipped a critical "bridge" scene in the preceding chapter. After going back and rewriting it, I've finally broken the log jam. (Cue "The Hallelujah Chorus.")
Sure enough, by bringing work to a complete halt, my subconscious was letting me know I'd forgotten something crucial and no amount of grinding was going to solve the problem. Finally, yesterday, I took the day off to go shopping, blab on the phone, play with the dog (the aptly-named Zippy's always up for a vigorous round of rough-housing), and have dinner out with my husband.
And lo and behold, this morning I knew what I needed. I wrote the bridge scene, came up with a better idea for the new chapter, and basically kicked butt and took names.
As Monty Python so perfectly put it, "And there was much rejoicing."
The next time you're really stuck, go ahead and try a day off. It'll make the spouse, the kids, the pooch happy, and by the time you're back to work, your hard-working subconscious may have solved the problem for you.
Comments
You are so right. Sometimes a little time off does the heart good.
I'm on vacation now, and when I get back, I hope to find my muse waiting at my desk. Heck, I hope she went ahead and finished a few projects while I was away.
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