Fiction writing is eight-tenths magic. The craft skills that we use when revising account for another tenth. The last tenth is comprised of equal parts serendipity, caffeinated beverages, and staying away from the Internet whilst creating.
What do I mean by magic? It’s when you sit down to write, sometimes with a plan, sometimes not, and all of a sudden the words explode out of your fingertips. You don’t know where they are coming from. You don’t want to think about any of this too much because the magic has a lot in common with ghosts. Never look at a ghost directly. Always keep your eyes averted.
Just keep typing.
It can be very hard to get into the zone where the words flow like that. Making sure that you write every day helps. So does understanding that emotions are an underpinning to all human behavior and activity.
Yesterday’s prompt sparked a lot of emotional reactions from many of you. Awesome. Strong emotions kindle magic easily. If you use today’s prompt, you are going to build on that magic.
Today’s quote
“Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.”
Gustave Flaubert
Today’s Prompt: Yesterday you let rip with strong emotions as you fantasized and wrote about what you would love to say to the toxic person in your life. Today you are going to build on that dialog.
Craft a scene based on what you wrote yesterday. Fill in the setting and the narrative action. Remember to put in sounds and smells. What else – other people? Interruptions? If the scene feels dull, add a twist. Make yourself or the toxic person do something completely unexpected half-way through the scene.
Scribble… scribble… scribble…