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After spending the last couple of months in a writing wasteland, my creative juices have once more began to flow. The first result is that I actually see the end of a story on the horizon (of the 10 or so which I have tried, The Shootist Disarmed percolated to bottom of my mind and closest to the spigot of exit).
The second result is that I am once more having trouble falling asleep at night. This always happens, as writing always makes my mind more active. So whenever I am trying to fall asleep, it becomes much to easy to plan what is happening in a story, to think about settings for a scene, to run dialog in my mind, to gnaw at problems that need to be solved. And since I am usually a slow writer, even when in a groove, this can go on night after night for the same scenes.
Maybe this is one of the reasons why I go into a slump between stories. Maybe my body lowers my creativity, at times, almost as a health check, in order to force me to catch up on my sleep. Or maybe not, but I think I will use it for an excuse when I next go into a slump.
Not that unusual
When you get right down to it, writing happens anywhere but at the computer. The substance of writing; plot, character development ... just the general flow of a story, all that takes place in the mind. It happens as you lay awake in bed or when your deep in your dreams, it happens on a drive to the supermarket, a walk around the neighborhood or in a nice warm bath. Then you sit down at the computer and transcribe the story your mind has written. You flesh it out with narrative and pretty things up with prose, breathing life to your creation with dialogue and description, but at least for me, the real writing takes place far away from my keyboard.
Scott
-- Moliere
Bree
The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.
-- Tom Clancy
http://genomorph.tglibrary.com/ (Currently broken)
http://bree-ramsey314.livejournal.com/
Twitter: @genomorph
sleeping and writing are greatly joined...
as it has been frequently demonstrated that our "subconcious" mind goes to work when we are sleeping. This is witness by the "fact" that many of us awaken during the night with more material for our stories.
Arcie, there are a number of highly skilled writers of my aquaintence (one of whom shall go unnamed but who is utilizing one of my guest rooms at the moment), who also go into a "slump" between stories. I believe this is for the same reason as you have stated. It is generally a "health check" in addition to being a final "letdown" after the rush of producing thousands or tens of thousands of words during the "adrenaline rush" of producing a story.
I had no idea that the simple "So you want to be..." would blossom into such a spirited offering of literary assistance between authors... This is a very good thing.
As to the night after night (only her hairdresser knows...), this simply means that you have not found that elusive tidbit which your mind has misplaced somewhere which it wishes to include. Frequently it may be some little thing which will not make nor break the main storyline but, instead, hides within it to allow for a chapter, or more likely, sequel story. Don't forget that parallel stories do exist and sometimes that elusive morsel is the key to a parallel tale, as opposed to a parallel universe. The parallel tale may be one from the point of view of some other character and come to rejoin the main story at a later time, or it may be of a separate character showing a little of that particular indivdual's life experience. Either way it increases the reader's knowledge and enjoyment of the main portion of the story in progress.
I have read authors(esses) who have used this technique to great effect, and who have taken as many as five storylines through several volumes each before beginning to join the characters into the final multiple volume story. However, generally it is the other way around and is called a "spin-off" the concept of which I believe everyone is familiar.
Placing human thoughts and terminology upon another specie is a part of effective storytelling, and each who have taken the time to attempt it has done very well.
Most of you are very effective storytellers and, equally obviously, have spent a great deal of time at doing so.
I intended, originally, for my little exercise to be more for the uninitiated but it seems to have become something else entirely and to good effect. It does, however, leave me in a bit of a quandry to decide upon the next direction to take.
God Bless You All...