Writing yourself into a story

A recent meet-up with the London Writers is always helped with the right refreshment!

 When I talk about writing into a story, I'm not talking about that part where you write tons of backstory before the story begins. You know the sort of thing I mean. It's those first paragraphs or pages that help you find out what you are writing about, and later you delete. I'm talking more about really loving your story and finally being in the moment when you think about it wherever you are. The sort of thing that makes me forget where I am and almost miss my tube stop because I'm in the head of a character or living the next scene I am going to write, and missing hours of sleep going over future scenes wondering if I should just get up and write it. Are you with me now?

When I get to that point where it takes me over, where before I had been struggling to 'get personal' with it. The characters are separate, and the flow of writing is slow, and I cannot seem to get into it. Then suddenly everything clicks, and I am in the story. Everything becomes more real and my characters follow me around disrupting my non-writing life!

That's the point I love (though it's not great when I wander off a train and think 'where am I going'?). I guess you could call it obsession.It's also that point where the writing really begins to flow and I put off shutting down the laptop, making myself late for other things. Leaving my characters in limbo makes me smile, but I don't always have time to finish a scene, which is both annoying and a delight because I know what I am going to write when I get back to it.

What I have learned over the years is that it is better to carry on with a piece rather than leave it. I have two unfinished manuscripts on my laptop. The one I am currently working on and another. Leaving things means going back months, or even years, later, feeling a little alienated from the piece and having to work yourself back into the story, rereading everything that went before because you've forgotten it. The momentum is hard to summon up again. And that's what has happened with this piece. There is another side to this, because rereading something that's months old and finding you still like it or that it surprises you, means you are likely to finish it.

Rereading this one, I found I love the beginning, but I got a little lost and couldn't find my way. It became abandoned, and it has taken me several thousands of words to get to that sweet spot of being in the story. Suddenly scenarios came to me. I had to research one to make sure it was possible. I've always known the ending, it's just getting there, but I am now making my way towards it. There was also the problem with one character, about his destination in my story. Ideas came and went and what I've just written shocked me! I do let my characters lead, which I find is part of the adventure. I never pin them down because I like to give them free rein, though I might yank them back! This way I never get bored. Of course, I have some set things, though when I say set, I use the word loosely.

Anyway, I now feel I can finish this story, hopefully soon. I have several pieces waiting to be edited and to decide on their future. 

I am also one of those people who research as they go and often read around a subject after I have written the story. This might seem the wrong way round to you, but I don't want to be swayed by things until I have told my story. I can flesh things out later.

You might be waiting to hear about the piece I mentioned in my last post. It is still with my proofreader. She has come back to say she likes the story and is now going through it again to make notes and answer my questions. One thing she did mention is pacing. I wonder if she means it's too fast (my usual problem) or with adding extra scenes I've slowed things down too much. I will have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, I have completed the four-week poetry course I was doing via email. I have really enjoyed it and found it became rather a personal insight into my connection with London. I have chosen the six poems to send for feedback, but will let them settle for a few weeks and re-edit if needs be. There was so much material on this course that I have thought about putting a series of poems together on the subject of London.

Finally, five weeks ago I became a grandmother for the first time. My youngest son and his wife have a gorgeous baby girl. They are also in the throws of moving (two stressful things), but they are moving closer to us. My other son is a very proud uncle and offered to buy a car seat for her to go in his car. The first things I bought her were a bath book and a board book. It pays to start early!

Until next time enjoy your reading and writing.