I haven’t written a single word today, but the work I have done on my novel paves the way to a lot more words in the very near future.
Ever sinced I started this journey I have had a big problem in that I didn’t understand how a very important part of the story worked. Not knowing this vital one thing didn’t stop me starting, because I knew I’d get it figured out sooner or later, and sometimes it’s better to just to get going and let the silent muse do its work in the background.
Still, I was getting closer to the place where I was going to have to use the unknown part of the story.
Today I went and sat by myself on an almost deserted beach, with no sound other than the hypnotic lull of the waves on the shore. I sat for a while with a notebook and pen, pondering on the problem but not really pushing anything. If a thought came into my mind, I wrote it down. I jotted a cluster around the word ‘cornia’ and the word ‘gate’. I let ideas come and wrote them down, no matter how ‘off the wall’ or ‘off topic’ they seemed, including the phrase ‘joining hand and heart’ which still doesn’t seem to fit anywhere – yet.
But suddenly I realised I was seeing a pattern. It was one of those glorious eureka moments that come along every so often on the creative journey and just take your breath away. Part of me wanted to run up the beach shouting ‘I’ve got it, I’ve got it’. And the best part of it is, it doesn’t undo any of the work I’ve done so far. It uses all the original ideas I had, including the bizarre and the impossible things that attracted me to the idea in the first place.
And, even better, it’s based on known science and technology, just amplified, magnified and given a twist. I’m extremely pleased.
Was it the beach? Was it the unfamiliar writing territory (I usually write indoors) or was it just that the muse had ‘cooked’ the idea and was ready to serve it?
I don’t know. But, wow, suddenly I understand a little bit of my puzzle that had been evading me since the beginning.
Will I be taking my writing onto the beach again? You bet.
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