I think one of the most amazing and incredible things I have learnt about writing is how much you aren’t in control. Yes, you are the one physically writing, but I never realised how much the story decides to tell itself. I never really understood authors when they said ‘the characters didn’t do what I wanted them to’ or that ‘the plot ran away from me’. I get that now. It’s alive and ever changing and doesn’t always work the way you think it will and it’s a beautiful process of discovery.
Important words~ ❤️
Yes! It’s a breakthrough when you understand this! But then it’s another breakthrough when you come to understand it also isn’t true.
The real truth is, a lot of writing is steered by our subconscious. We DO have control over it, but that control isn’t always being exercised by our conscious minds. When a character makes a decision you didn’t plan for–somewhere in your head, YOU made that decision. And so then you can choose: do you just run with it? Or do you re-analyze and test it? Either one could be the right call. Your subconscious brain can be very smart. Then again, it can also be overdosed on cat pictures. I’ve thrown away thousands and thousands of words on following after spontaneous ideas that turned out to be dead ends. But then again, I’ve written stories that wouldn’t have come out right if I hadn’t followed that flash of insight.
The most diabolical manifestation of this is writer’s block. It’s important to know that’s coming from somewhere in your OWN head. It doesn’t come from the same place every time, which is why a lot of professional writers will say “writer’s block doesn’t exist.” It’s not really all the same critter. Sometimes you need a break. Sometimes you’re fighting against a change you subconsciously know you need to make. Sometimes it’s procrastination or distraction, or frustration because the story just isn’t coming easily to you.
Personifying
the story
(or the characters or ‘muses’) as an outside force
is a useful metaphor, but if you get too much into that habit, it can start to work against you.
Developing a deeper harmony with your subconscious writer-brain is a long-term project, but it’s totally worth it. The more you write, the more you learn to recognize the feeling of intuition at work, and the better you get at diving into it to discover whatever it is that you didn’t know you knew.
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