Wearing my writing hat
Recent creation as well as how I'm feeling about my latest WIP. |
There's an authorial euphoria in the air; while I didn't write today, I've amassed over 10K for the word count since Thursday when I started writing my latest novel. Not much thought goes into the daily prose, merely typing what flows from my brain onto the virtual document. Speaking solely for myself, there is no better manner in which to let the sentences, paragraphs, scenes develop than by simply permitting those elements of a chapter to emerge. It's magical, liberating and so creatively satisfying.
I took off today, merely reading over what I've produced; it's not bad, always nice to note. Writing so uninhibitedly, I wonder if it's all crap. It's not, cool! It's a draft certainly, but with many of them under my belt, I'd like to think I kinda know what I'm doing, lol. Always room for revisions, but when half-pantsing a story, that it vaguely makes sense is reassuring.
The biggest thrill is the ability to write so freely; it has been an incalculable blessing to write so prolifically from about day one of my fiction journey; I was forty when getting started, coming on fifty-seven soon enough, dude! A few fits and slow starts, some tales left by the roadside, but mostly I've been able to churn out a chapter per day over those sixteen years. My goodness, sixteen years of writing? Jeez Louise! So yeah, still having the wherewithal to type type type (lots of blah blah blah) is awesome! Reaffirms that my writing hat still fits.
At times I wondered, especially last fall when my NANO gig bombed. Not self-doubt per se, more like reluctant acceptance that at fifty-six, I might not be the writer of old. Past Me (of three months ago when NANO took place) shrugs, not willing to consider such musings. Future Me (of an indeterminate time) nods, noting that yes, at some unknown but inevitable point, the writing will slow to a crawl. Present Me however gleefully claps hands together, giggling uncontrollably. I still can write like I used to, maybe not LONG chapters (4,500-5K words) but chapters encompassing two or three scenes ranging from 2-3.5K for the word count. Maybe not six or eight days straight, perhaps four days with one off to recharge. But the fact remains that I can write without feeling like I'm dredging snot through my navel, painful to say the least.
So I'm gonna keep wearing my writing hat, colour unknown, but the fit is perfect. Actually it's a blue and yellow hat, with pink and teal trim. Orange tassels with lime green centers. A plum and red pom-pom sits on top, garishly unattractive but easy to find. Like the words currently, God willing.