Saturday, April 24, 2010

Silence

Whew! After being with 400 people at the conference and having company and talking and blogging, it's time again to retreat into silence and finish my book. I found Rachelle Gardner's post on embracing silence very inspiring. It's exactly what I needed to read. I find I write best when I have a quiet place and a quiet mind.
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I almost always write in first person to capture the main character's voice. But now that I know the story, I feel hampered by it. I need a bit of distance, a larger perspective, and have switched to third person. What a difference it makes. And so, when I'm not taking care of my family or teaching, I'll be writing. That means being offline even though I enjoy the online writing community so very much. Wish me well. I can finally see the end of this exploratory draft.

I need to tape these two quotes to my computer:

Shut up and write. ~ Natalie Goldberg
Write the damn book. ~ Jane Yolen

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6 comments:

Bish Denham said...

I'm cheering at the finish line!

Vijaya said...

Thank you, Bish.

Marcia said...

I started my WIP in first person, and that lasted for maybe three pages. A switch to third opened it up so much! I so agree with you about silence. I write best with a quiet place, a quiet mind, and ideally no clock.

Vijaya said...

Marcia, I'm enjoying the freedom as well, but I'm in danger of head-hopping. I'm debating having a couple of chapters from other characters ... This is a first draft, so I have to get through this whichever way I can.

No clock? Oh, I couldn't do that. Even at night, when everybody is tucked safely in bed, I have to make sure I don't stay up too late.

Write2ignite said...

You can do it!!

(and those quotes are hilarious!)

Vijaya said...

Trying my best ... if you see me online, shoo me off :)