Every few days, after writing scenes for one of the story arcs I’m developing, I feel the need to organize. That happened a week or so ago and felt great. I repeated the process last Thursday morning.
Since the paths each of my stories take are not 100% known beyond the beginnings and the ends, it seems like I’m continually working through this three-activity cycle:
- Creative writing when I have an idea and am pursuing it
- Consolidation and ensuring continuity between ideas so the story flows
- Depression and staring-at-the-screen panic when I don’t know where to go next
It happens like this: I get an idea and start writing, which is the fun part. Words emerge from my head and get memorialized in Scrivener.
Then, once the words are written down and the ideas are nearly exhausted, I start feeling like I’ve lost some control of the narrative. To regain that control, I do an edit, cutting and modifying while verifying that the story still makes sense. Some of the ideas that need to be carried through the arc will appear to have weakened, so I strengthen them. After finishing that step, I feel really good, like something has been accomplished. The problem is the immediate aftermath of the clean-up.
By the next day, I’m worried that I don’t know what to do next. Everything is tied together and there are no obvious loose ends. I stare at my computer for one writing session, not really getting anywhere because I don’t have any ideas. That is followed by some brainstorming and (hopefully) good fortune. Several ideas arrive at once and within a couple days I’m writing again freely.
The worst part of the cycle, obviously, is the post-organization state. It feels bad while everything else feels good. That said, I’m also noticing that the editing process is getting much harder as the book gets longer, so the feeling of lost control is prolonged.
I wonder if other writers experience the same thing.