This has been a day for writing. The thoughts are flowing and I am loving these people I am finding. I have a glass of wine and great music playing. Perfect writing atmosphere. I have laughed at their conversations and look forward to finding out their story.
Humans are strange and interesting. How they become who they are is the best part of developing a story-line. I know they come from me but they are people with their own loves and hurts. Experiences mold us. I have personal knowledge of them based on what has gone on in my life. That is all I can give them to start with and then they grow like flowers in a well tended garden. I write and then I re-read what I wrote to know more of their minds. This is the cultivation.
Teasing out their reactions can be the best part of this cultivation. Writing a scene that has nothing to do with me personally is exciting. This means they are forming into individuals. They are real to me. One thing that is fun to create is the town they inhabit. In the case of this story it is fictional but I know it already. I know what it looks like, which way the roads run and where the business and home are located. I took some time to draw the town on paper. This gives me a reference in the same way my notes about the characters flesh out who they are. I make notes along the way. I love finding names for them. They must fit the character. In my office/library I have hundreds of books that I will refer to for names. What a thrill.
The conflict I already know about, but giving voice to this and when to do it is a process in revealing it in a natural way. Deeply felt conflict doesn’t jump out and grab you. The story is learning its way into this, at least that is what is happening now. My mind runs in circles sometimes. Is it strong? Is it real? It is there, but what is the defining act?
My heart is happy and my fingers are getting tired. It’s late and I’m at that point of reflection on the words.
Cheers!
-N