I'm baaaack!
Unsurprisingly, I wasn't able to write anything on my vacation. I was, however, able to make a lot of headway on book two (and a little bit of book three) in my head; spending 7 1/2 hours in a car both ways can have its perks!
I do a lot of what I like to call "prewriting" while driving. While this sounds scary, I'm just holding my story lightly in my brain while I'm already active and engaged with another activity. This allows me to gently explore details and plot points and to help me work through complicated ideas. As a kid, prewriting happened a lot while walking to and from school; I accomplished a lot of world-building and character-creation on those meandering walks.
I spend much of my creative energy in these preliminary planning processes. This means that when I actually sit down to write (which--as most writers know all too well--doesn't happen as much as it should) I have a clearer idea of what I want to convey and how I want to convey it. This does not mean that my first drafts are in any way fantastic. Instead, it means that the changes I make in the editing and revision processes are more centered around pacing, punctuation, and prose rather than plot and purpose.
In addition to having ample to think, this holiday was also extremely productive in a somewhat unexpected way. The locations my partner and I visited were major inspirations for a critically important setting in the second and third installments of my trilogy. At the same time, I was able to narrow down some of the mechanics of my story associated with the origin of said place. As you can see, the views were nothing short of incredible. I was sure to take lots of pictures, both for memories and for future reference.
Has a trip ever inspired you? If so, what were the creative souvenirs you took home?
Comments