Woo Hoo! I met yesterday’s writing goal by just a little over 1500 words. I also worked on a couple of short pieces that needed some finishing touches. Funny how what you plan to write just takes on a life of its own in the beginning stages. I had such a clear picture of my main character before I started and then she began to evolve into a combination of two people: one from my past and one from the present. It will be interesting to see what she looks like by the end of today’s session. I love what one of my writer friends calls this stage of the process…”mind doodles.” She’s so right! I’m a big doodler and have been all my life. I used to fill up the margins of all my school papers with eyes, hands, dogs, swirls, boxes and anything that poured out at the time. Sometimes I forgot which papers were going to the teacher and which stayed in my notebook. So my teachers got some very interesting looking papers from me.
Mind doodles, like any kind of brainless activity can easily get out of control though, so that’s why I’m giving myself a set number of words per day as a goal. It seems if I just keep going and going without reigning myself in after a while the story gets lost in memory and feeling before I can turn it all around. This is fine in daydreaming, but some discipline in the thought process is vital, at least for me. We don’t change that much over time, and if my writing becomes like my daydreaming in math class in high school I’ll get a failing grade…or at least a C…in my craft.
So, today’s goal…1500 more words and a little more self-control in what they are. Mind doodles with a purpose! See you tomorrow…