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Five Little Words
So I was working on Sand last night. It was one of those every-word-fights-me places in the revision process, where my goal is to keep the emotional arc intact while altering what's being said, who says it, why she says it, and what secrets remain unsaid. So. Freaking. Frustrating.
Then, while staring at the little cursor blinking at the end of the last line, I decided I needed to add a timeframe to an event mentioned two paragraphs above. Up went the cursor, and I typed, "--two generations before the Woes."
Then I sat and stared at those five words while the underpinnings of three novels shifted into alignment. I swear, I could almost feel subterranean pillars, staircases and tunnels scraping and creaking and rumbling into new positions. And when all that movement ceased, I was left with a backstory and an arc and a thematic backdrop that suddenly made perfect and beautiful sense.
After, I made not a whit of forward progress because I was too busy examining shiny plot pieces, seeing what they looked like in the new light.
--two generations before the Woes.
Five words that didn't change a thing, but showed how all the changes make sense. I write because of moments like that.
Aside: I've altered the titles a little bit as well, to better reflect... things:
Sand of Bone
Breath of Stone
Burn to Hone
Then, while staring at the little cursor blinking at the end of the last line, I decided I needed to add a timeframe to an event mentioned two paragraphs above. Up went the cursor, and I typed, "--two generations before the Woes."
Then I sat and stared at those five words while the underpinnings of three novels shifted into alignment. I swear, I could almost feel subterranean pillars, staircases and tunnels scraping and creaking and rumbling into new positions. And when all that movement ceased, I was left with a backstory and an arc and a thematic backdrop that suddenly made perfect and beautiful sense.
After, I made not a whit of forward progress because I was too busy examining shiny plot pieces, seeing what they looked like in the new light.
--two generations before the Woes.
Five words that didn't change a thing, but showed how all the changes make sense. I write because of moments like that.
Aside: I've altered the titles a little bit as well, to better reflect... things:
Sand of Bone
Breath of Stone
Burn to Hone
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I can't wait to read more of Sand!
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