The Joy of Pieces Coming Together

As I am sitting with my writing group today...the lessons of past writing workshops and the advice in the writing books I have been reading are magically falling into place.  The comments of my writing friends on dribs and drabs of my past novel attempts are making much more sense.  Somehow, over the past few months, things are starting to sink in.  I'm realizing that writing is hard work.  You can't just open up a blank page and set off on the journey...well...not if you want to actually finish something that has a cohesive beginning, middle and end.

I remember being so intimidated in a workshop I took a few years ago because I couldn't comprehend having motivations for your characters.  Actually, I couldn't think of what they were for my main character, let alone the others.  That is a huge glaring problem!!  You can't have a story if there is no quest to move it forward.  Duh!!! 

This afternoon, without even realizing it, I created a list of the main pieces of my story.  In looking over the list...I quickly realized that they were the goals/motivations of each of my characters.  Yes...that is right...you read that correctly...each of my characters has a purpose in the story.  Each has something to drive them forward.  Each is related in some way to the other or in a way that makes the story work and come together in the end.

After all of my plotting on Friday, I had one hole to fill.  I didn't know what line of work that my main character's boss was going to be in.  After I figured that out, everything else started to fall into place.  Will this cause me to go back and clean up some things from my work on Friday - Yes!!  Is that a reason to stop -  Heck No!!

Woah...this is me figuring out how to be a writer!!!  It is a banner day!!!