Danae Samson's Blog: Writing Journal

I've heard other writers talk about it, but I have never experienced it first hand. Naturally, when the idea that my current manuscript may not be working and that I should consider shelfing it and starting anew came into light as a distinct possibility, I felt rather sad. I love this story and have muscled through it for over a hundred pages. How can it be over? What about all the time and energy I have spent fussing over it, shaping it, only to have it drag along at an almost unbearably slow pace? Should I try to work things out and see if I can finish it or do I acknowledge the unsettling truth that perhaps the story isn't working? When is it the right time to lay a story down? I think I'm gonna have to come back to this one.

If I may be allowed a small protest, I would like to discuss what I call the Bottomless Plot. The unforgivable BP is when a story is completely void of any point. The reader cares not for its characters nor their adventures because their existence seems unimportant, without intrigue and provokes a “so what” response to every lame attempt at suspense. The lady fair is kidnapped . . . So what . . . she’s annoying. The hero is imprisoned . . . Okay . . . why do I care? The world might be coming to an end . . . That’s fine, I never liked that world anyway. Sister to boredom, ambivalence is the number one offender to writers. If the reader doesn’t give two shakes about the people or the places in a story, then there is no reason for them to continue reading it.
How can one avoid this pitfall of shame? Easy. Only write what surprises you. If you anticipate the plot or the nature of the characters, so will your reader. Do them a favor, (hell, do yourself a favor) and keep it fresh. If it sounds familiar, it is. Don’t recycle your stories. A small camouflage of name and setting changes isn’t going to remedy the absence of a new idea. I’m not saying there isn’t useful repetition in writing. The establishment of genres is an outline for themes, tones, and a specified form of writing. The approach of those things is what needs to constantly be different. Personally, I enjoy writing stories about the strength of the individual and how we can be strong, flawed and brilliant in our own quiet way. This theme can be found in every book I’ve written, but I explore the illumination and examination of this theme in many different ways, which in turn gives me and my reader a better understanding of it and makes for brand new story.
To those who have found themselves reading a BP, I officially relieve you of the responsibility of finishing that story. It isn’t going to get any better. You will not start giving a damn on page 400. I promise. Put that nonsense aside and start something new. Life is too short to read bad fiction.

It's the same feeling you get when you meet someone new. You begin to wonder how they work, how their lives operate and what their likes and dislikes are. Turning the creative corner with a manuscript is an unmistakable feeling that all writer's wait for. It's the signal that the story and its creation is about to take off. The writer's perception of it changes. It is no longer a "something I'm working on", but rather "The New Book". They go to bed at night obsessing over it and stumble out of their bed in the morning only to bee-line for their laptop. It becomes their every day and often their evenings. I am happy to say, dear readers, that I have come to love my New Book and can't wait to show it to you.

I've never really subscribed to the idea of having only one place to write. Contrarily, I think it is evidence of advancement, when the creative juices remaine unobstructed despite the writer's presence in an airport, library or coffeehouse. Unfortunately, and coicidently, I take it as regression that I have, of late, become sensitive to my surroundings and am unable to find the exact spot in which hours of productivity can be found. I write a bit here and a bit there, but have yet to root to an exact spot.
In an effort to reconcile this obstacle (and to complete my present manuscript in this century), I have decided that today I will simply assign a spot, whether it be ideal or not, and stick firmly to it. You shall know of my success when tomorrow, I am unable to blog because I am in the throws of storytelling. . . here's hoping.