I’m feeling lost. The ending is so close. I know what it is, but I cannot decide which path to take to get there. I know I need to just suck it up and write something, anything, so I can finish the first draft and then hammer out the details that either do or don’t work in the edits to follow, but I’m lost.
Part of the problem is my writing schedule does not coincide with my ideas schedule. Every morning I bike to work. I leave early enough that there’s no traffic or noise. It’s peaceful. And in this peace, I develop these wonderful ideas. I get to work and try so hard to keep them all in tact. By the time lunch rolls around and I go to pen them in, they’ve flown away.
The other part of the problem is the evolution of the story. It has been on-going for so long, there are plot elements that I want to hold on to despite the fact that they don’t really fit with the story anymore. But it’s more than that. I’ve had too much time to let the ideas simmer. Some simmering is good. Too much can become toxic. And now I cannot commit and I grow more and more lost as I try to work through the maze that has become my WIP.
This morning I forced myself to get up early and write. I told myself I was not allowed to think about all the problems, about all the possible things that could happen leading up to the end. I just needed to sit and write whatever logically followed the sentence before it. And you know what? I’m still lost, but I at least feel like I recognize my surroundings, like I can find my way out. Taking the time to sit down and write left me feeling refreshed. Even when you feel lost, just write. You will feel so much better getting it all out of your head. I know I do.
