In Which I Return to the Land of the Writers
Last march I was working on a story. I really liked it, felt connected to it, but there was something missing. Something just wasn’t quite clicking. I was excited by the idea but there was conflict missing from the narrative. So inevitably, another idea took, an idea that has captured my brain since my angsty teen years, and I wrote 40,000 words in that novel instead, abandoning that fledgling idea.
A few days ago, I began to think about that idea again. I started to get excited, the way I, and I’m sure most other writers, do when they are faced with the prospect of writing a story they are passionate about. I reconnected with the characters, and I rebuilt my playlist, and I re-read my outline.
Everything I know about conflict I learned from Buffy
And then I found the conflict I’d been missing. The piece, the missing piece that I’d never found. It was there all along, wiping down counters in the bar, making jokes with the lead character, serving drinks in the shadows next to the story. I don’t know if it’s the only missing piece, or if I’ve yet to find the others, but this is a start I wasn’t anticipating. I’m going to explore its every possibility.
Hope you didn’t miss me, Songs for Ghosts.
What about you? Made any progress with your writing in the new year?
