Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Tuesday's Inspiration - The Moment of Recognition #MFRWauthor #writing

This inspiration was written in 2010 and remains valid today.  Sometimes when writing comes the moment when you realize where the story is going. Suddenly the plot comes as a whole rather than in bits and pieces and the writing becomes less of a struggle to find the world. For me this happens while I'm writing away and realize there are dozens of plot holes that need to be filled in, changed, taken out. This happened to me this week while I was doing a rough mockup of my next story. I knew what I had to take out, to change and what to move to another area. So what I learned way back them is valid today.

I did a bit on plotting last Friday but while reading On Becoming an Author, John Gardner, I read a sentence that resonated with me. "Plot is not a series of surprises, but a series of recognitions or moments of understanding." Sometimes when writing and struggling to get the words on paper, I know there are moments when I suddenly see what I was meaning to say. That often means going back and removing a scene or a short passage that jumped in when it brought no understanding to what I was meaning to say.

Sometimes the writer knows what they mean but they've managed to obscure the understanding from the reader. Not letting the reader know what's coming and blindsiding them can make them turn away from the story. Try to think of the reader as a partner and let them in on the secrets you hold from the characters. Leave the surprises for the characters to reach a moment of recognition or understanding.

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