Interesting times.
I thought I was almost recovered from the Viable Paradise cold (the gift that keeps on giving), but today seems kind of relapsy. I’m not kidding anyone as I putter at work with little to no enthusiasm. I may even show my literature students a film as a stop gap.
But I am almost caught up at work. Killed two major projects brutally like baby seals this week, which means after I’ve finished some odds and ends, I’ll be able to norm tests, call references, and start observations. Ohh, baybee!
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You are, however, here for my writing life, so let me tell you what will happen next week when the writing life kicks back in.
Uncle Jim MacDonald, of the incredible Doyle and MacDonald duo, gave me a piece of advice about writing at Viable Paradise that will help me get out of the troll meeting conundrum. Some of you may have used this trick yourselves.
Uncle Jim said that he writes his story’s climax, see who’s left standing, and work his way back from there.
I have that material from the draft I wrote earlier this year. I know who’s left standing in almost every story arc in the troll story. If I brainstorm backwards and see what I need to build to get to that climax, write it, and pay attention to any more interesting wrinkles that come up, well, I think I can do this better than before.
Right now, there’s a lot of boredom coming out if I do this linearly, and with Uncle Jim’s method, I will see what things I must include to make sure the climax happens.
I’m a little nervous about writing out of order, but I will invoke the patron saint of writing out of order, Julia Rios, and hope she does not abandon her petitioner.
By the way, Uncle Jim has other valuable tips on Absolute Write, at Learn Writing with Uncle Jim.
Class is in session.
Catherine
