Saved from the Chopping Block

The other day I tweeted about deleting a big chunk of my book. Have you ever been on auto-pilot with your writing? That's how I felt about the last bunch of pages. I was going down a path that I did not plan. It didn't seem to fit. It felt unpurposeful. That's why I was moving so slow... I didn't know where to go with it. Yet, I was reluctant to delete the pages. Something kept me plugging away.

It's almost as though my subconscious decides where the story is going without telling me. I was getting really frustrated today. I started pacing. I'm not a pacer, but there I was... pacing. I stepped out onto the balcony and stared across the pasture. I went back in and walked around the bedroom. Why the heck am I writing about this ridiculous Thanksgiving dinner thing. It had nothing to do with the story line. I went back outside. This went on for several minutes.... then BAM! It hit me.

Suddenly I knew why I was writing this... It was the only way to bring the characters together at that point in time for the dialog that started filling my head. It needed to be said. I hadn't covered that yet. But why would she be there then? Tada! She came for Thanksgiving! Duh.

I guess I need to trust my instinct a little more. I was so afraid I'd gone off on a wild tangent, with no hope of returning to my outline. Then, in the blink of an eye, it all came together. The words came and my fingers flew. I quickly tapped out six-hundred more words. I could have gone all night, had I not needed to prepare dinner. I wish I could convince Hubby to live on Atkins' protein shakes...

Have you ever wondered why you were writing a passage that wasn't planned, only to discover that it fit perfectly into your story line? The brain is an amazing thing!