My First Week's Progress

I sat down to start a little earlier than the past couple of nights. And with the help of a friend (Thanks, Caine!) I think I've possibly gotten my best character yet. I stink at sports metaphors, but he tossed me a great seed for an idea like a gentle pitch straight over the plate. I may like what I got from it, but whatever I made of it started with his suggestion.

I'm calling it tonight after creating one character, but I think I've found a few things out about my writing process. I've seen it suggested elsewhere, but I try to get my brain going by just 'automatic writing' to get my fingers and thoughts going. I honestly believe that helps. Music choice also seems to matter. I've tried listening to playlists of music that I like. I've tried listening to Christmas music. But I think I've had my best results from listening to Enya. The fact that a large number of her lyrics are in Gaelic and Latin (two languages I don't understand) probably helps.

I've been writing this journal for a week now. While I've had a couple nights where I had trouble getting the ball rolling, I think I've managed to put most of my protagonists together. I think I need one more, and then I can start charting out the group's dynamics - I'm really looking forward to that part. I still need to detail antagonists and other important characters, but writing the backgrounds for the characters I've already selected has given me thoughts on some of those already. It's nice when the work you've DONE helps you with the work you've got to do.

Spirits and motivation are both still pretty high. I've worked consistently on one project for a week now, as I get my ideas organized. This week at my night-job, I should have lots of time to play with. The tenants should be home for Christmas, leaving me with a lot of night to fill. Next week, I'll try to have a more formal recap.