Dripping words onto the page…

 

The most important things are the hardest to say. They are the things you get ashamed of, because words diminish them — words shrink things that seemed limitless when they were in your head to no more than living size when they’re brought out. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? The most important things lie too close to wherever your secret heart is buried, like landmarks to a treasure your enemies would love to steal away. And you may make revelations that cost you dearly only to have people look at you in a funny way, not understanding what you’ve said at all, or why you thought it was so important that you almost cried while you were saying it. That’s the worst, I think. When the secret stays locked within not for want of a teller but for want of an understanding ear.
― Stephen King

Hey, Lovelies.

I am still chugging away each day to get my 50 000 words by the end of this month. This is the story that poured out of me unbidden, last November. My protagonist is called Dave, and he whispered the story into me. I never knew what would come next until it was on the page.

Most of it has flowed so well, but there are a few hard things that need to be nailed down. Dave has been coy about some of his own backstory – and they are the details I need in order to set this up better and then bring it home.

So, yesterday I stepped away from my laptop, and found a blank journal. I wrote Dave a letter, inviting him to join me for a conversation, and thus began the process of dripping words onto the page. I’ve never worked like this before. It’s all strange and new and dangerous. But I feel like I need to trust the process. And I hope Dave is ready to come clean.

Have an awesome weekend.
Love, pots of tea, and the sound of a scratchy pencil on paper, Nicole
PS – New Word Tally: 8 825