leaky faucet

I tend to write like a leaky faucet. Drip… drip… drip… 200 words here, 400 there, another 300 there. If I’m in blazing hot streak mode, I might bang out 1000 words in one sitting, but that’s rare. It’s not something I do on purpose, it’s just the way I am.

What do I do during the in-between times? I pace, stretch, get coffee, check emails, do some kind of work that needs doing. At some point in the day I take a nap. It’s why I prefer writing at home, instead of at a coffee shop.

Now, I can be lazy and lounge about all day like the best of ’em, but I pay the price for sitting too long.

But all those little leaks add up to buckets of writing over time. This is why I’m working at developing a habit of writing in the afternoon. So by the time evening rolls around, I already have some pages done and momentum for further leaks.

I added 600 words yesterday to the novel “The Ghost, the Vampire, and the Jock.” And a character from a short story I wrote maybe three years ago decided to come along for the ride in the novel.

Normally, after I write a story, I have short memory of who the characters were and what happened. But this guy is a CHARACTER, with freakin’ capital letters. I remember him clearly. I had no idea he’d be in this novel, but dammit there he is.

It’s funny, because one of the really minor characters in his story had a background I wanted to explore but never did. I might get to do exactly that in this novel. We’ll see. I won’t force it though.

And I mentioned awhile ago that this novel might be a Rashomon story. Nope. Darn, I’ve wanted to do a Rashomon for awhile now. Just not meant to be on this one.