Okay, it’s day 13 and I’ve been completely noncompliant. If you’ve been following these posts, I made a modified Julie/Julia commitment to write 400 words per day (see post for the exceptions) for 100 days to develop the habit, then, if I chose to keep going, finish my novel in a year’s time.
After three days of perfect compliance, I had a wake up call that shifted my focus. So, the 100 day plan moved to the background.
But something happened in that post-Julie & Julia meditation, that sweet coffee shop moment where the numbers added up and I saw my way to a complete novel. Though I’m not doing what I set out to do, and instead I’m being a good adult, helping my son pack up for college while working to pay the (expanding) bills. That’s what’s going on in the foreground.
But in the background, the novel is growing. And movies seem to feed it.
My next movie therapy session came after a movie I didn’t particularly like (I won’t say what it was, because I won’t spoil it for people who would be moved by it) — but it didn’t matter. I was in that meditative place, this time at home in my bedroom, and was compelled to lay down with my journal and write dialogue — dialogue that made my main character less innocent and more real.
So instead of directing this adventure, I’m riding it out. Who knows what will happen in 100 days? Oh, I have another book growing in the background, so I’m not sure how this plot will evolve…
Laurie
p.s. Just got back from District 9 and — again — compelled to write, here in passionate observer center. I LOVED District 9.
Fr3d // Sep 22, 2009 at 4:49 pm
One thing that has surfaced from the writing process is that, once your characters start truly speaking for themselves, the author really has no control. I often get flashes of what is going to happen halfway into a novel with absolutely no idea how the characters are going to get there…much less how they’re going to get out of it. Cruel, cruel brain.
Fr3d // Sep 22, 2009 at 5:07 pm
To my knowledge, it only takes a month, (or a bit less), to make a habit. On the other hand, if it isn’t already in your nature to produce four hundred words a day, don’t go there. Simply get the plot down first. A good novel isn’t built on speed but how well thought out it is. There is nothing like forcing fiction to bring on writer’s block. Blank pages that stare back can produce the same effect. Should this happen, walk away and go do something menial like rake the lawn or wash dishes…or rake the dishes and wash the lawn, though I understand these aren’t nearly as satisfying.
My stuff may be somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and Lethal Weapon, but it still takes some concentrated thought.
Laurie // Oct 13, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Hi Fr3d,
Thanks for your wise words and practical tips. The organic way of writing that you describe is really the only way that works for me (though deadlines and accountability are my friends when I’m really geared up for a project). But it’s tempting sometimes to want to put the process in a neat box. Julie and Julia seduced me big time! There are people who use structured writing really well, but I’m not one of them.
Update on the novel: As you noted, it does have a life of its own. My sister (an extrovert, of course) made contact with a kindred spirit — and a fellow alumni from my small college — who is a mover and shaker at the Walker Art Center in MPLS. We’re going to talk about the life of a curator — did I say that my main character is a curator?
I have no idea when (or even if) this novel will complete itself, but, as you say, that’s not fully in my control.
Thanks for reminding me,
Laurie