Monday, September 1, 2014

Don't think. Just Do

"Don't think. Just do."
~Anonymous

A mentor and friend taught me this when I was studying the Isshinryu style of Karate, this ideology can be applied to a plethora of life lessons and situations, including those in the world of fiction. It's like watching an opportunity and failing to act, or rather postulating the "What if?" hypotheticals. Quite recently, I was given the opportunity to change jobs, at first I was uncertain on whether it would be a good fit for me and my family. But taking that step of faith helped me to realize the importance of life's unique moments, We can't waste time worrying about how it's going to turn out, we just have to move forward and though change can and more than likely be difficult--it's often for our best and we don't recognize it until we've taken that first step.
I believe that some writers/authors(including myself) have a tendency to over think plot, character development at times--especially when it comes to every writer's block. We tend to lose focus micromanaging our character's life and by doing so we lose our audience and we tend to go into the intricate, superfluous detail the environment surrounding our character, rather than focusing on the character's state-of-mind during a critical event in their life i.e. death of relative, relocation, convictions, advances, etc. Rather than focusing on notes and research that we have written in the past; though they will be used at some point. I find that writing by the seat-of-my-pants keeps me aligned with storyline fluidity and from there I am able to fill in the gaps between scenes with added suspense, drama and plot twists or descriptive battle scenes. Thus, completing a story or stories. I am appreciative of everyone who reads my blog and I hope you are entertained by what I am able to give. So until next time.

Yours Truly,

M. J. Stoddard

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