Thursday, September 3, 2009

Eeny Meeny Miny




I'm faced with an abundance of choices and it's driving me crazy. My kind of writer's block isn't that I sit down and nothing comes. It's that there are so many possibilities for a story that I can't decide which version is the right one.

Just sent off a follow up to When It's Six O'clock in San Francisco (fingers crossed everyone), my freelance work is cleared off my desk for the next few weeks so I now have time (and no excuse whatsoever) to focus on the new YA. Problem is, I'm not sure how it goes.

When I write, it's like a movie playing in my head (I've heard other writers say this, so I'm pretty sure I'm not totally insane) and that movie can start pretty much anywhere. Right now I'm trying to decide what the opening scene is for my movie. Does it start at her parent's cocktail party? On the beach during the day? At the bonfire? Somewhere else altogether? Ack! What if I pick one and it's the other that is really right? These are the choices we face and it can be stultifying.

Times like this I wish the fickle finger of the God of Writing would come down, point to the correct option (even if it's D - none of the above) and say "That one! That's it right there." We'd all be ever so grateful.

On this date: In 1875, Porche is born.

2 comments:

Julie_c said...

Sometimes I find I don't get the perfect beginning until I have written the end. Then I can craft the two together. How many times have I reworked B.Z.? Today I was sitting down to go through the changes again. And when I do this I just sorta type out my notes like I'm writing to you guys and sometimes I figure things out that way. But each crappy scene I write and cut may get me another clue as to where it's all going to end up. So my advice to you is - just write and let things flow and when you see where things are going, you may be able to look back and see what you need to craft an awesome beginning.

Good luck!

CJ Omololu said...

You're absolutely right - but it's so hard to do when you know the beginning isn't what it should be!