Stalled Writing The Storm Women

I’m sitting on the back patio watching the goldfinches decorating the thistle-seed feeder and the hummingbirds dive-bombing each other for rights to the sugar water. The water dripping from dish to dish in the Mexican fountain makes a soothing background for thinking. It’s 88 degrees already at 7:45 a.m. in Phoenix and there’s not a breath of air moving across the glassy surface of the swimming pool.

Margo Storm has me stumped for the moment and even though it doesn’t look like I’m doing any work on the novel right now, I am! I’m ruminating. At about 50,000 words into the novel, I’ve decided to go back to the beginning to insert Margo’s present-day story between each of the chapters chronicling the lives of the women buried in the Storm family’s cemetery plot.

Beyond the ruminating, one other maneuver I’ve employed to extract myself from this stall involves reading stories other novelists have written. Even though I sometimes feel guilty about taking time out from the writing, I think it’s a necessary practice to reset my imagination. Sitting out here reading, watching the birds, the sky and the clouds, opens up my world beyond my computer screen. Themes and devices running though other writers’ stories inspire me to think more broadly about the one I’m writing.

Pausing to let myself enjoy the life going on around me helps banish the fear that looms large when words and ideas refuse to flow. While reading, I’ve been reminded of a theme that will fit into Margo’s life perfectly. Now I’m onto some new directions for Margo’s character and new insight into how to make her life the ongoing chain that links the lives of all the Storm women.  Now, to get on with it!

I thought of a quote this week to share with you : “Boredom is the soil of creativity, inspiration its seed and imagination its flower.” Cheryl Thomas

Write On!

Cheryl