Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Surprises

I'm notoriously bad about remembering things.

So much so that, about a month ago, I wrote a huge, long email describing this awesome character I want to include in 'Project #5' (the northern fairytale), and promptly forgot about it until that person replied to the email a couple days ago. And that character wasn't just a 'throw-away' one, it was going to play a huge part in the story...

Since I don't write notes, those kind of things are common, but I figure any really good idea will hang around in my brain and will come back eventually, when I need it. All the lame ideas will be weeded out/forgotten and replaced by better ideas.

I don't mind this. I don't intend to start writing notes, or planning, or plotting.

Because it's fun being surprised.

As a lesser example of my own forgetfulness, this morning I stumbled onto a line I forgot I wrote.

...and it's probably one of my favourite descriptive lines in 'Brake Fluid'.


The leaf-covered ground has been torn up by tire tracks, the deep gouges bleeding clay-red at the center.


I know for a fact it came out exactly like this (first-draft-format), that it's never been edited, and that I'm going to leave it exactly as is.

You may recall I get frustrated by description, but I also love it.

When your brain tangles words on a regular basis, it feels miraculous when a line comes out clearly, precisely, and tangible.

Lines like that one remind me that, even if my skills are still under development, even if grammar rules give me a migraine, that once in a while I can still pull off the right aesthetics in rhythm, wording, and imagery, purely on instinct.

Sure, some of my more carefully crafted (and heavily edited) lines of description may be more memorable, but this one certainly means more to me personally.

Which might be why I forgot about it in the first place.

'Cause I wanted to be surprised by it again. Not just by the line, but by what it means to me.


Do you have any particular lines in your own WIPs that have special meaning, or you're just really happy with the way they turned out? Feel free to post in the comments! I love getting tastes of other people's work!

2 comments:

  1. The one story I'm working on about the exorcist having the line: "I'm an exorcist, we break before we bend." The line has made it, as is, into every single draft of the story and sums up how broken the main character is perfectly.

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    Replies
    1. Awesome :) It's funny how those single lines can just stay with you...

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Type me out a line of Shakespeare or a line of nonsense. Dumb-blonde-jokes & Irish jokes will make me laugh myself silly :)