BE MINE I was once asked by an editor--who later became a writer--how I got my stories. BE MINE's origin came while driving along a country road, and seeing an Amish girl riding her pony.
They were in such unison, that girl with her long dress riding up above her jeans and boots, the spotted pony beneath her, racing together, almost in one body.
And that is the origin, the nugget, that began BE MINE.
The sight of that girl and pony threw me back to some of my background, and the connection, the stirring began...
My first editor put me under contract because "you have the stories, and we want them". I think some writers are naturally just full of it. Stories bubble from their brains, and mine come that way. Any scene, a special word, can set my imagination spinning. I rarely have a dry spell--and no, the WB words should not be spoken, addressed, mentioned.
The WB words, when stories churn more slowly within the writer, should be eliminated from any discussion, banned, kaput. They are a HEX, a CURSE to any writer believing in them. If believing in WB, you're blocking your potential story right there.
If the story or plot comes more slowly, think of it as NESTING or BREWING THE STORY.
TIP: IF YOU GET INTO A STORY, DO NOT LET IT GET COLD. Sometimes we have life or what I call NOVEL INTERRUPTUS. But a story is a live thing, with a pulse, and you can lock into it again. One of my best tips here is: If you can... if you can... leave a short paragraph of your intended next scene or make a few notes.
TIP: GET OUT FROM BEHIND THE DESK. GET EXPERIENCES (no laughing here, please.:)) NIGHT FIRE emerged from driving the entire length of the Oregon Trail. I use pictures from wherever I've traveled and researched. (I'm currently looking for a really good old windmill with missing blades.)
Writers: Shh... Don't say the WB word, or even think it.
No comments:
Post a Comment