Decision Points... Or Where Do We Go From Here...?
So... I'm at the mid-point in my new novel, and I've hit the wall I always hit about this time... I've reached some decision points for my characters, and I'm trying to figure out where they want to go. I have some idea where they're going to end up, or where I think they're going to end up... but the path that will take them there.. I'm not quite sure what it is yet...
Usually this period takes me about three months to work through.. and I hate it.. because I'm always worried I'm going to lose the flow of the story in the meantime. But if I try and force myself to write, I know it's going to turn out like crap.. so I guess I just have to relax and let it flow. And I know if I do, it'll be fine.. it's always worked before...
I just hate the waiting...
Because, of course, it makes me sit around a lot.. and think about the decision points in my own life.. and that can be painful sometimes...
I sometimes wonder what my stories would have been like if I my characters had made other choices. I've sometimes thought it might be interesting to go back and finish a novel a different way.. or maybe try and write the story with both paths occurring at the same time, kind of like that movie Sliding Doors.. it might be fun to try that...
But that doesn't work so well with life. It's either one or the other.. and I find myself now at such a point.. and where do I go from here?
Of course, everyone will tell me, "make a list of the pros and cons and see which one is longer...." Very analytical, and not surprising, since my day job is with a lot of analysts... But in reality.. I'm not sure how you could ever do that. Who knows what's just around the bend in the road..? You can only lean so far over before you have to take a few steps in that direction.. and by then, of course, there's no turning back. And what if I had walked a few steps in the other direction...?
Then again.. I could just stop at the crossroads. I just got off the phone with a friend that has been standing there for years and seems unwilling to move.. But I can't see myself doing that.. I need to keep moving.. but which way...?
At least when I wonder what my stories would have been like if my characters had made other choices... I can always go back and re-write them.. and maybe I will someday..
Sometimes I wish I could do that with my life..
I can't... can I?
I believe we will eventually come to our Destiny no matter how many twisting paths and detours we take along the way. So I'm a believer in just doing something. Unlike the Analytical types, pros and cons don't really work for me. Intuition. A lot of journaling.
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It's a fun thought, and I think Neil Gaiman tried it once, writing a short story that worked from an alternate ending for Neverwhere.
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Interesting.. I'll have to look for that..!
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As far as I know the only time you can't alter a choice or walk a different path, is when you're dead. Trust your gut and it will always be the right decision, whether in your writing or your life. I bet if you look back on your past, you will find the most undesirable circumstances arose when you didn't make a decision with your gut. Instinct in life is every damn thing. I hope you continue to write these thought provoking and intelligent posts.
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Thanks for the advice, and the encouragement. I need both right now... I'll think on this.
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Sometimes when we reflect, I think it makes the character within us so much stronger. It is what we chose to do with our reflection that continues to define us. Do we really ever want to go down the other road? There are still certain things we would have to endure before we would come to the fork in the road. There are some things just better left alone. Maybe not journaling just notes about a character will help pass the time and you won't have to go back to the painful decision points, you can move forward to the beneficial forks in the road waiting for your arrival.
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Good insights.. that'll give me something to think about...
I love the comments this blog has generated.. I've been thinking about them all week.. especially in light of some recent events...
Thanks everyone..
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for me, both before, during, and after, things (ideas, plot, characters) must marinate. not the most energizing part of the process, but a necessity.
i don't see you as a 'hang out at the crossroads' sort of guy. too much energy and curiosity and vision for that. but there's nothing wrong w/ standing still for a moment and listening. not to the past. not to the voices
hmmm...i'm confused. are we still talking about your book, here?
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Of course not.. writing is just a metaphor of my life.. as it is everyone else's.. isn't it..?
You're absolutely right.. I do need to stand still.. be quiet.. and listen for a moment.. especially now...
thanks....
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