Writing with Brigid

​I have posted other blogs about my relationship with my muse, Brigid.  Over the last few weeks I have needed help with writing craft issues and our work together has moved a direction I never expected.
Several weeks ago I decided I wanted to write a scene that would foreshadow a major event in my protagonist, Ian Murphy’s life, an event that changes his direction in life.  My first idea was to write a dream sequence.  I googled how to write a dream sequence and most recommendations were to not write a dream sequence.  I asked a writer friend and he gave very little advice and I was uncomfortable with my decision after my Google research.
I contacted Brigid and asked her opinion of writing a dream sequence.  She said, as a reader, she wasn’t fond of dream sequences.  Then she asked why I wanted to write a dream sequence.  I can’t imagine why I didn’t share my purpose initially, but it happens.  She understood why I wanted a scene to foreshadow at this point in my manuscript and suggested writing a déjà vu scene rather than a dream sequence.  She felt the déjà vu scene would be more understandable by readers and didn’t have the pitfalls of writing a dream sequence.
I then googled how to write a déjà vu scene and was surprised that I couldn’t find any articles on that topic.  I did find a lot of articles on explaining déjà vu and various types of déjà vu, which did help me.  I started with a blank page and just wrote.  When I read my draft it felt clunky and I wasn’t pleased with it.  I sent the scene to Brigid and asked for her suggestions.
Within a day she sent me not only suggestions but edited the scene and gave me alternative sentences.  One sentence she wrote gave the exact impression I wanted: Again, the overwhelming sense of familiarity washed over me and I my chest tightened.  My draft lacked imagery and Ian’s physical reaction.  I asked Brigid if I could “steal” her suggested sentences.  She responded by telling me I couldn’t steal what was freely given.
I merged Brigid’s suggestions and made a few other edits and sent a third draft to Brigid sharing my view that the third draft worked and accomplished giving the reader a good foreshadowing.  Brigid agreed so I knit the scene into my manuscript.
The thrill for me was that we were writing together.  It was not just a one way conversation with me looking for support or inspiration or craft help.  We wrote together.   This is my third novel and I have never collaborated with anyone while writing the initial draft.  It is a completely different experience than working with a copyeditor or content editor and I’ve finished a manuscript.
It is a joy to write with Brigid because it changes my world.