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.

Popular posts from this blog

Fits, starts, and restarts

-
Image
Two examples from two different skeins of yarn where breaks in the colour scheme occur. Very indicative of my current mood, lol. This is a funny novel, for all the hemming and hawing going on. Never before have I written, then purged scenes with somewhat of an abandon. I truly don't know what to make of it, chalking it up to age, grieving, the weirdly long winter (even though it's spring), or my new computer keyboard, which is small but adequate in a strangely truncated manner. I'm enjoying the writing, but the story keeps veering off on tangents I'm not comfortable with, in that too much is being revealed too soon, bleh. Future and Past Me's are steering clear of this manuscript, perhaps because what came before it was so out of the blue, so cathartic, and this prequel is just as outta my backside as any I've ever written. But I am writing, let me restate that, despite restarting a chapter here and there. I'm not getting much else accomplished, other than s
Read more

Orphan blocks are not like unfinished novels

-
Image
It's a busy day, getting ready for guests that will enlighten our lives for the next week. However my feet are a little weary, so why not ramble here for a bit, giving those dogs a rest as well as set upon a discourse about the above title before I forget why I thought it was important (lol). I don't even know why I first pondered this, maybe an IG poster mentioned them, which made me think of my orphan EPP blocks. I don't have many machine sewn blocks without a home, but plenty of English paper pieced designs linger in a tote, patterns I liked and HAD TO MAKE. I used plenty of them on a Turning Twenty quilt, decorating some plain tone-on-tone prints and that was a great manner in which to employ less than a quarter of what remains, ahem. Oh and I used some on a t-shirt quilt that I made in conjunction with a friend, who had lived in Hawaii for a few years and wanted to put her aged shirts to quilty use. But still many remain, although I have a plan for them, hehehe. I am h
Read more

Following one's heart

-
Image
Fascinating from the back, as though a map to an unknown destination. It was an early start today, half a chapter written, then texting with my youngest daughter and enjoying photos of her sunrise a few hours east of us. I woke to clear, starry skies, but clouds have since moved in, rain forecast for the next few days. Maybe in a few days I'll have completed my novel; it's VERY CLOSE to being done, but I said that in a recent post, The End dangling like a carrot merely an arm's length away. Meanwhile I've been stitching together Cornflower blocks each evening. The photo above was snapped last night, what I see as I sew. MANY papers to remove, but I'll deal with that later, lol. I'm also working on another quilt, hehehe, more about that in a day or two. And the last ones for this year are washed and waiting to be given to my granddaughters on Christmas, which is just a little over a week away! I considered today's title right after reading through the sevente
Read more