Step Away from the Story

Step Away from the Story
By Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, Coastal Dunes Branch

 

In a perfect world, each and every one of my stories would come to me in an orderly, timely fashion. Unfortunately, this is not so. I am just as guilty as the next author who, when distracted by shiny things (the internet, the wild birds visiting my garden, a Lord of the Rings marathon on TV, the latest book by my favorite author, the conscious decision to hit the snooze button on my alarm a thousand times …) I feel immediately guilty because I ”should be writing”. As a creative person, I understand my mind needs a break every now and again, and the creative mind doesn’t believe in taking conventional breaks like everyone else.I am always trying to remind myself that yes, it is okay to step away from a story if it doesn’t want to come to me in that moment. And I have learned, more often than not, there is a REASON I got stuck in one part of my novel, or why the plot refused to let me bend it a certain way. Sometimes, it just takes time for the novel to work itself out, and we need to be patient with that process.
– Jenna

 

This first appeared in Jenna’s January 2017 newsletter.
Read more about her on her blog/website
Jenna Elizabeth Johnson, jennaelizabethjohnson.com.