Writing Again - Subtleties of the Process

Well, happy news. The first draft of Daredevil Prince: The Two Princes is underway! It took a while, but finally the impetus was strong enough and one day I just started to write.

I’m not writing at the breakneck pace that I did for the first book. I think the story is still evolving in my head. Most interesting - to me at least - is that I still don’t know what the climactic scene will be. I don’t normally launch into writing a story if I don’t have the most important scene, the one the whole story is leading up to, in mind already. So this is different, but I’m going to trust the process.

Bits and pieces of a story come to you over time, once the process of writing begins. It’s like a mosaic. Gradually the pieces assemble themselves into a cohesive whole, almost without the writer’s conscious input. As long as you keep going, as long as you keep writing, the story crystallizes into form. And suddenly, you see that it was all supposed to fit together that way.

Not to give the plot away, but in Daredevil Prince: The Two Princes, a character expresses a desire to drive through Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles. This is because he loves Joni Mitchell’s Ladies of the Canyon. I remember this album. It came out in 1970.

I’ve always loved Mitchell’s song, The Circle Game, but I’m not a Mitchell aficionado per se. So why this album?

It’s part of the mosaic. So I’ll find out, eventually. (And yes, I am buying the CD. Because research!)

We’re careening into summer already. It’ll be time for GayRomLit before we know it. On the personal side, I am in another process right now besides the writing process, that of assessing my work-life balance as I head toward semi-retirement, which will be next year. I hate to admit it, but I am slowing down physically. After decades of having the energy to do most anything I chose to, now I have to pick and choose my activities with an eye on how much I can handle.

This has made me focus on what’s really important. The dwindling years ahead of me also make me realize how precious time is. I don’t know how this will affect my writing. I have some ideas but no clear path as yet. As always, both my life and my writing are works in progress, so stay tuned. :-)