Wednesday, January 7, 2009

You Know It'll Work When...

...the idea just won't let you go.

This is a crappy time of the year for me. This week = final exam reviews and kids frantically writing their 6-page final essays. This weekend = reading 65 student essays and grading them. Next week = administering 3 different final exams. Next weekend = grading 65 final exams. Weekend after that = planning for and beginning and entirely new semester with new kids and (for the first time in five years) a new course that I've never taught before.

So, yeah, I'm tapping the gin bottle soon.

But no one cares about that. Here's what I'm really writing about:

Recently, I met a writer friend at a coffee shop to discuss our manuscripts. She read a scene where one of the characters (Ms. Wendt, the witchly teacher) gets angry. She pointed out that Ms. Wendt's anger is pretty mild and dropped quickly. This isn't the first time that I've heard that before, so as soon as she said it, I started thinking of ways to make that scene better. After all, she a pissed off witch--surely she can do more than yell!

An image started forming (she gets so angry she catches on fire), but it was a bit vague, so I just let it sit around in my brain all weekend. Then school started up, and I still kind of had it all in the back of my head, but I wasn't writing anything--I was too exhausted from school. Then we had a staff meeting that was mind-numbingly boring, and I started doodling because, let's be honest, I certainly wasn't going to do anything so crazy as pay attention.

And what I doodled was that scene that had been bouncing around my brain.

When an idea grabs you on one day and is coming out of your fingers in sketches half a week later, you know you've got a good scene.

So I'm not going to play around here. I'm going to go write that scene!

11 comments:

Jason said...

I love when that happens, when you've got an idea that just pecks and messes with you until you can't help but write it. Those are the best.

lotusgirl said...

Good luck getting it out. I'm hoping it goes on the paper like you envision it.

Christina Farley said...

Must be a great scene. Can't wait to read it.

Unknown said...

I think I got it worked out! I sort of wish that I could have stopped my staff meeting and rushed off to write it...I feel like the juices were flowing a bit better then than later. But I think I captured the essence of it...

Unknown said...

Er, ignore me. I'm just testing something here...

Unknown said...

And, uh, testing again.

Bowman said...

You have a funny way of thinking.

"How can I solve this problem? *slaps forehead* Of course! She'll burst into flames!"

I'll try that on some of my characters. ;)

Anonymous said...

That's fantastic. I wish my faculty meeting doodles helped me solve my writing problems. Sigh.

Unknown said...

Justus--trust me, I know! :) And it really did go something exactly like that!!! :)

Egretsnest: I always do my best thinking when I'm bored and in meetings. I picked up the habit in college. I would pretend to write notes, but instead, I'd write stories...now I'm so used to it, that I sometimes sign myself up for extra meetings because I need brainstorming time!!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

I hope you got the scene written! I get these weird ideas, too, that fester and boil until they turn into something useful and beautiful. I think only other writers would understand this...

Unknown said...

Glam: I think I might have gotten it! :)

Susan: I agree! Those moments seem rarer and rarer for me, but I do love them when they happen!