Unstuck

In late November, before taking our winter vacation to Spain, I wrote about being “stuck” in my writing – not writer’s block mind you – just stuck.
Changing your environment allows a person to also change their perspective and gives space and time for the subconscious to do it’s work.
Spain afforded me that opportunity.  Cruising over the Atlantic ocean at 35,000 feet, the hum of the engines and the subtle vibration of the plane allow the mind to drift off.  I asked myself – what has changed?  I have never been “stuck” when drafting any of my three novels.

In that semi-conscious state one word rose to the surface of my conscious – editing.  Because I signed up for the Weekender with Laurel Yourke I concentrated my writing energy to polishing the first four pages of my manuscript.  More importantly I allowed myself to be critiqued to five people who have never published a single word.

Their edits to those four pages were scathing and cruel.  One member of the group commented:  “I hate the whole paragraph on page four”.  She broke a cardinal rule of critique groups – make only constructive, helpful comments and do not be mean.
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Never before have I done any self-editing or allowed anyone to beta read or edit until the entire manuscript is complete.  I didn’t follow my own path.
The result – I was stuck and I did it to myself.  The solution turns out to be simple, ignore all the comments from the Weekender, stop editing and just get on with the story.  I have the arc of the entire story deep in my conscious – I merely need time.