Pitstop

I've slowed a bit on my latest endeavor, The Mummy Case. It isn't any less captivating, but I'm getting deeper into the plot and now the scenes require a bit of thinking ahead before I dive right into them. I know where I want to be at certain points of the story, so I need to take my time to make sure the preceding scenes point me in those directions without feeling forced or contrived. That's the real trick and I'm learning this is where I tend to get bogged down. And so that is when I tend to switch to another story where I've figured out the next steps and can keep going.

I could, in NaNo fashion, just plunge ahead, forcing my way through the scene. A good analogy would be when I was riding my horse in a 4-H club. My horse was very tidy, so if he had to 'go' he'd stop and do his thing. The club leader insisted I start kicking him onward so he would keeping moving as he did his business. Neither my horse or I thought much of this idea. I didn't go back to the club ride again.

Forcing my way through a scene feels the same. I could write my way through it without stopping, but all I end up is a long string of manure. If I stop, I can leave a tidying pile of it by the wayside and then move on with greater ease and movement.

Okay, weird analogy, but it works for me. So while my word count on The Mummy Case has fallen greatly, I'm still making progress by considering where the scene is going. And once I'm clear, I'll be riding smoothly once more! Until the next pitstop.