Ramblings from the Desert

The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. ~Benjamin Franklin

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Location: New Mexico

Author of the urban fantasy novel, The Music of Chaos, and the paranormal romance, The Canvas Thief.

Monday, January 23, 2006

Putting Mules To Shame



I spent last Tuesday hammering a square peg into a round hole.

Oh, getcha mind outta the gutter. It's a metaphor for my futile stubborn streak. See, I got it in my head--again--that real writers should write an outline before they write the novel. I've gone through this idiocy before. I know I cannot write an outline or synopsis beforehand, even if it "sounds" like a good idea.

But I got it in my head that it must be the right way to proceed. Now I start a project with a premise and good idea where the characters and plot are going. I don't have a clear enough idea to summarize ahead of time.

So I did the "moth to the hot lightbulb" thing all day Tuesday, beating my brain against the idea of outlining. Usually an empty page doesn't intimidate, I jump right in and fill it with words (or drawings.) But an hour went by and nothing. I made another cup of tea and another. I got up to pee. Then more staring at the monitor. Nothing, nada, zilch. I did some quick sketches, rough character design for my protagonist,Asha, below.



And wrote nothing. I went outside and beat the live horse. Came back in, sat butt in chair, and stared at the screen. I doodled a bit of dialogue for the webcomic (first image, above.)

For the first time ever I have a New Year's resolution. I resolve to never again make any attempts to write "the way other people do."

On the stubborn topic, I spent about an hour trying to figure out the right server path so I could host my own images, instead of using the free host where I usually upload images. I could have emailed my web host, but nooo, I'd rather fiddle for an hour.

On that note, I'm off to get some writing done.

Monday....
P.K.

 

Graphics and Content Copyright © Patricia Kirby 2005