Stopping points

There's a school of thought among some writers that you should always stop writing for the day at a mini-cliffhanger -- something that will pull you back into it the next day to make the getting-started easier. I've never really given it much thought -- when I'm ready to stop, I stop, no matter where I am or what my characters are doing.

But last Thursday, near the end of the day, I began a scene with Damon Long and a new character who came out of nowhere -- she was originally intended to be nothing more than a voice on the phone -- and really grabbed my attention. I stopped a page or two into the scene, but kept thinking about it, foolishly figuring that it would be so easy to get into on Saturday. (Friday, of course, was a day off for lunch with Leah and the Bobbi ladies.)

Saturday turned out to be a day off, too, thanks to the oily stuff used on my eyes by one Bobbi lady. Spent much of the day with eyes closed and eyedrops running out the corners like tears. Oh, wait, those were tears!

But Sunday, I eagerly sat down at the computer, reread what I'd written on Thursday, and started typing. I wrote 3 or 4 pages, then stopped and reread that scene from the beginning. It just didn't work. Threw that out and started again from a totally different direction. Got 3 or 4 pages, reread, and threw out again. Played a few games of Free Cell, then took a break for lunch.

Now, by this time, I normally have 12 or 13 pages written. Instead, I was actually at a negative page and a half. Not a happy place to be in, especially when I'd stated my new goal on the motivational loop as writing 80 pages this week, and I know I'll be out of the office next Saturday!

Finally, the light bulb came on: this scene didn't belong at that point in the story. Damon's got a schedule to keep, and showing up then threw it all off. So I cut that scene (saving all the various pages in case they're of use when the time is right), and started a new scene. And it works!

Too bad it took most of my day to figure it out. There goes my goal, she says with a regretful sigh. Rachel8:45 AM