Deciding what comes next
A 2020 finish for my eldest that turned out far more beautifully than I could have dreamed; The Seedlings Quilt, pattern by Jodi Godfrey. |
The plot for my current novel has been in my brain for ages. Sometimes books are like that, or story ideas, but not always do they come to fruition. This yarn was first spun well over a year ago in the guise of an initial chapter that went nowhere, or so I thought when abandoning it after just twenty-five hundred words.
Now many more chapters have been accumulated, the end kinda in sight, or it better be for how the word count has risen, ahem. The writing and plotting have been good, maybe why it's evolved into more than the standard 80-100K book. I'm fine with that, it is just the first draft. But now that I'm reaching The End, I'm starting to wonder how this tale will actually look once I get there.
Fortunately I have several days to ponder it, hehehe, as I'm taking off this week from writing to enjoy the presence of dear friends, how dang handy, lol! Or maybe knowing I wasn't going to write this week enabled me subconsciously to step back from what I had envisioned, which certainly still could play out, although.... Maybe it won't. Maybe a character I added very early on, which at the time didn't seem wholly relevant and was not part of my initial plot considerations, could play a pivotal role. Or another character closely associated with the story from day one might step up, surprising everyone (especially me). Or someone I haven't considered will spring out of the woodwork, throwing wrenches all over the place. The life of a writer can be truly shocking.
At least in the fiction, whew! Which is just how I like it, let me also say. Astounding events within my novels is enough excitement, other than the joy I'm anticipating in spending the coming week with some marvelous folks we've known for over twenty years. It's supposed to rain here much of the week, not sure what we'll get up to in trekking around the area. That's as much of an unknown as my novel's conclusion, but I'm not going to fret about it. Plot twists need to emerge organically; I've been in this noveling gig long enough to not overthink it. The correct pieces are in place for whatever is supposed to occur and the less I get worked up about it the better.
Except that it's one thing to talk about letting go of preconceived ideas, another to strip them from one's hands. Which is why I think a week away from the story is perfectly timed, not that I knew I'd reach this point in the novel when I started it, aligning to sharing this week with friends. Funny how life works like that.
Well, not funny, just blessed, grace in all manners on this corporeal plane. Accepting the grace, I can walk away from the prose, and maybe that's the key. One or more characters needs to accept the grace of inexplicable incidents that for better or worse are indeed true. Oh wow, that's awesome. I'm glad I'm writing this here so I can return to it, refreshing what might be the turning point of the novel. Or my life, if you know what I mean.