If you know me in real life at all, you know all too well my penchant for scatterbrainedness. Most of the time, I can focus. Most of the time, I know FAR in advance what I want to do. I don’t necessarily live by a schedule — but I do know how I want my day to progress. And I get squirmy if I plan things and then don’t get them done. On the other hand, there are days like today…
Which side of my brain do I access during which parts of the writing process? Left side for outlines, character description, plot arcs, planning chapters scene-by-scene? Right side for writing the rough draft and letting the story flow? Writing the first draft requires me to follow my heart and let my characters get into trouble…
In “The Artist’s Way,” Julia Cameron talks about “touchstones.” My touchstones are tangibles that resonate with the intangible in me. My touchstones are physical representations of aspects of my soul. And lest I digress into some new-agey, psycho-spiritual ramble, here’s an excerpt from a list I made a few years ago…
I feel as though I’ve spent most of my life in a desperate search for air and light and time and space. Most of the time, I haven’t even been aware of what I was seeking…but now, I look back at certain hard times in my life, and I find myself nodding in wry understanding. “Oh. I see now. That’s what that was…”