By Kimberly A. Bettes
If we’ve learned
anything from life, it’s that what works for one, doesn’t work for all. A great
example of this is skinny jeans. They are not for everyone. We
are each individual, with different likes and dislikes, experiences and
viewpoints. Give ten people a task, and they’ll do it ten different ways.
Some authors strive to
write 1,000 words a day. They push themselves and struggle to achieve that
goal, but most often don’t make it. Meanwhile, I turn out thousands of words at
a time effortlessly. It’s quite common for me to have a 6,000 – 10,000 word
day. And that’s without even really trying.
What do I do that those
other authors don’t?
When I begin a story,
it’s vague. I know how it’ll start, and sometimes how it’ll end, but what
happens between the first page and the last is usually unknown to me. I learn
it as I go. I put my fingers to the keys and let the story flow, with no
plotting beforehand or outlining of any kind. I’m just as surprised by the
story’s twists and turns as the reader will be.
Maybe that’s the secret.
Maybe all that plotting and planning puts too much stress and strain on a
writer. Maybe it stifles the creative process. If you’ve mapped out every
detail of your story, you spend your writing time worrying about how you’re
going to get there. If you’re like me and just let the story tell itself,
cutting its own path across the page like a river over land, then you have the
freedom to go whichever way the story takes you. You’re not bound by your
pre-conceived ideas and goals.
I’ve tried plotting a
story. It doesn’t work for me. Just like skinny jeans don’t work for me. If
you’re one of the writers who fight to get a few hundred words a day onto the
page, maybe you should try it my way. Just sit down at your computer, put your
fingertips to the keys, and see what you have to say.
The thing is finding
what works for you. Whatever it takes to get those words out of you and onto
the page. Experiment. Practice. Find a way to open that can of ideas and get to
work.
____________________________________________________________________
Kimberly A. Bettes lives
with her husband and son in the beautiful Ozark Mountains of southeast Missouri
where she terrorizes the residents of a small town with her twisted tales. It’s
there she likes to study serial killers and knit. Serial killers who knit are
her favorites. Her books include Annie’s Revenge, The Good Neighbor, Rage, Held, Before the Harvest, Twisted, Shiners,Pushed, The Day Bob Greeley Died,
and The Cabin on Calhoun Ridge.You
can find Kimberly online at any of these places: Blog: http://kimberlyabettes.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyABettes or https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyABettes.Author\ Twitter:
@KimberlyABettes Aboutme.com: http://about.me/KimberlyABettes
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