No Way In...

I have been working on a story for weeks. Which is absolutely not my way. Normally I sit down and write for a bit and I'm done. Sometimes I have an idea when I sit down, sometimes I peruse a writing prompt list to get an idea, but either way I tend to write in a flurry. If I re-read it before I post it or send it to Dana I count that as editing. 

Even when it's a longer story, like Witches in the Wonky Tower, or Books, I write each section in a flash. I don't tend to plan any of it. And I rarely know where it's going. If I do have a final scene in my head I don't know how I'm getting there, just that that is where I'd like to land. And even that can disappear when I start writing. Like the Books series I've been posting on Sunday originally in my head was a totally different story. Different ending. Different type of story. And then when I found my way in it was through a different door that led to a different story. And even that all happened one weekend while I was writing something to send to Dana to start our swaps. 

But this one? I had a dream a month or so ago and when I woke up it stuck in my head so I took a few notes. I thought, this might actually be something. Then I let it just rattle around in my head firming up a little more. And yeah, I think there's something there. Then I started trying to write it into a story. 

And I'm stuck.

I cannot find my way in. That's the problem. I know the middle. I know the end. I know what the beats of the story are. But I don't know how to get in to it. Where do I start? How do I get the set up premise going? Because there is a set up and a payoff and I have to have those in or it's not really a story. 

And honestly, that doesn't usually bother me that much. I've written a ton of things that aren't really a story per se, so much as a scene. A section of a life pulled out and looked at. Things that could, if I were a different person, be part of a larger book. A whole big story. Some of you might even have said to me, "I want to know more about this person!" and I'm always like, "Good luck with that."

Because I write for fun. I write in a flash. I write as it comes to me. And if it's good then that's bonus. 

But this one? I really think it's good. Or could be good. I think there's something there for a little short story that will be good and creepy and fun. Just perfect for October. 

If I can figure out how to write it. How to find my way in. How to pick one of the multiple entry points and go from there. 

I've tried writing the middle and going back. That's a thing they tell you to do in those "how to write" books, but I need to know how I'm getting in. I'm blocked on the rest until I figure out how to get there. My brain just works that way. I'm almost at the point where it will just go away for awhile. If I get a flash of "Oh of course this is the way in!" then I'll come back. 

I don't want to do that just yet because I still believe in the story. I still think it's going to be good. But maybe I've put too much pressure on these poor guys to live up to the idea of them. Maybe they are hiding waiting for me to stop screaming LIVE UP TO YOUR POTENTIAL at them...

Which fine, that happens.

But now I need another story to send to Dana on Sunday. 

Damn it...