A book has a mind of its own

I always think I know where my book is going. While writing An Accidental Awakening, I even tried to plan its route, particularly the ending. That doesn’t work when your book has a mind of its own.

I’m writing the 3rd in the Awakening series. Most of it has been written for over a year. I couldn’t get my head around it though. I kept trying to decide its direction but it never worked. So I let it sit. 30,000 words written and sittin’.

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Now and then, I’d think of returning to it, but still there was no clear insight as to its path forward. And then, a year later, it would tap me on the shoulder during meditation or while driving. It would whisper inspiration into my ear. I’d jot down a paragraph here and an idea there. The more I listened, the more it revealed. Soon, I was writing entire scenes.

“Every story I create, creates me. I write to create myself.”
Octavia E. Butler

Now, the road ahead is displayed before me. Nothing like I thought it would be. So much better than I could have planned.

It’s a dance between writer and story.

Both have a spirit. What a gift it is when a story reveals its spirit to the writer. I believe that’s why I return to the keyboard again and again. To feel a story tell itself through me is an honour and a joy.

You can try to write on your schedule, with your agenda, but I suspect your story will have something to say about that.