Don’t Sit Down in the Middle of the Woods
Yesterday, I ran across an article in the Guardian called ten rules for writing fiction. The title was a lie, because it was ten rules proffered by a couple dozen writers, but that too was a lie, because some of them wrote one or three or ten. Some of the rules were self-indulgent and show-offy (these were famous authors, mind you) like “no going to London”, but a few were practical and helpful.
The absolute best rule there, however, was from Margaret Atwood. It probably just seems best to me because it struck on something I hadn’t thought of, and she put it in a way that made me laugh and think at the same time:
Don’t sit down in the middle of the woods. If you’re lost in the plot or blocked, retrace your steps to where you went wrong. Then take the other road. And/or change the person. Change the tense. Change the opening page.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that… sat down in the metaphorical woods. It never occured to me to backtrack to the last place that the story made sense, and to start writing anew from there.
Lately I’ve been working on editing an older novel. I’ve been enjoying it, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that part of the reason is that I have been stuck on my WIP Wildings. I know how I want it to end, and the beginning is solid, but there’s something in the middle I just don’t know how to do. You see, I’ve painted my way into a corner.
I have a feeling Atwood’s advice holds the key for me. Now I just need to go back and see where I lost my way. The good news is, I think I know where it is.
Just as a side note that has nothing to do with writing advice: Whenever I see the title to this post, my mind adds “because bears have been shitting in there“. Yes, my crazy obsession with word-assosiation really can ruin just about anything.
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Now that’s good advice.
And in addition to bear crap, there could be ticks or ants!
[ Follow me on Twitter: alexjcavanaugh ]
Now, THAT is worthy of doing up in needlepoint, which is what I do when stuck. Hmmm, sitting down and needlepointing is very like sitting down in the middle of the woods. Hmmm.
Oh, and @AlexJ: bear crap, nothing. BEARS! Oh, my.
[ Follow me on Twitter: girlfrenkate ]
That is great advice. I’ve found myself doing it accidentally… flicking back from a point where I’m lost and finding that a few pages before, I was totally happy with the way everything was sizzling. And that it wasn’t nearly as bad as it seemed.
[ Follow me on Twitter: dirtywhitecandy ]
Nice blog post, I recently got stuck sitting in the middle of the woods in my second novel. I went back to the beginning and decided this was not a novel for me to write at this time. It was a freeing experience. Just glad I didn’t get chiggers in the process.
Ciao,
Ardee-ann
[ Follow me on Twitter: ardee_sagemoon ]
Oooh I’d love to see bears but of the winnie-the-pooh type!
Anyway – great advice – it’s always good to be flexible on re-drafting!
Good luck with your editing!
Take care
x
I love Margaret Atwood! That’s a great piece of advice. I think I need to go apply that…
[ Follow me on Twitter: jemifraser ]
I’ve decided that my problem was not sitting down in the middle of the woods, but jumping back and forth between two woods. I need to combine them into one forest.
[ Follow me on Twitter: MermaidHel ]
That is good advice – and it sure beats floundering around like a crazy lost person.
Glad to hear you know where you started losing your way so you can make it out of those woods – good luck with Wildings!
Great post — and wonderful advice. I appreciate this — and I’ve bookmarked to reread when I need a butt kick.
That’s really great advice. Another thing I think is important is not to just push through the writing when I’m not sure about where I want the scene to go. If I get stuck, I stop, reread, and let my mind wander for a couple days until something comes to me. It usually doesn’t take too long. Congrats on figuring out what needs to be done!
Haha, that’s funny and true at the same time! I’ll remember that. Don’t sit down in the woods. But I don’t understand why one couldn’t go to London?
[ Follow me on Twitter: AlexandraCroco ]
I suppose it’s too full of distractions! Might be hard for someone who lives there though.
[ Follow me on Twitter: IndiaDrummond ]
Great advice, for sure! Thanks for sharing it.
I love this advice, and the post itself is lyrical, thank you so much for sharing. I’m absolutely inspired to get back to walking again! I’ve quoted and linked this piece in my blog to share it with others.