Right now I'm reading "The 90 Day Novel" by Alan Watt. Yes, you read that right. A first draft in 90 days. But honestly, not even that long, since you spend days 1-29 planning your story.A portion of that planning involves "stream of consciousness" writing, which is something relatively new to analytic-me. The idea of frolicking in the wilds of my imagination mostly makes me want to puke. I'd rather do the Snowflake method any day. Because clearly, when you plan your story in its most basic element and then flesh that out, it just flows...right?
But something in there hit a chord with me. You see, there's this Little Princess who lives in my house. She's one of those girls who can't go five minutes without creating some elaborate scenario whereby what we're doing has backstory and we all have a role to play in the drama.
The 90 Day Novel says this:
"Think about the way a child tells a story. When you ask him a question, he delivers an answer without hesitation. It is with this spirit of boldness that we inquire into our world. There are no wrong answers. Children have complete confidence in their narrative. They are fearless, lost in the bliss of their imaginations. Their motivation is to delight themselves. As we amuse ourselves, we will naturally move in the direction of our story."
So...bring on the frolicking, I guess.
Okay, maybe that came out wrong. But you get the idea. A little roaming in your imagination and seeing what comes out, doing it again and digging up stuff you never would have thought of if you were just "reasoning" out a solution to the impossible problem you've created for you character...maybe we'll be surprised at what happens.
How about you? Ever tried 'stream of consciousness' writing?
What writing books have you read lately that helped you?
, Prodigal Nights
, and Grace for the Char-Baked
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