I don’t know
what it’s like for the rest of you when writing on a new project, but for me it
can be trying. During the height of my involvement, when I’m so wrapped up and agonizing
over every single detail in an effort to spill my imagination onto the page and
bring it to life, all the while making it as believable as possible, my mind
tends to splinter. For that period of time I live in two worlds…the one my body
exists in…and the one my mind gets sucked into.
I find
myself constantly thinking about people who don’t really exist, but mean
everything to me. I envision how they look, what they’re wearing that day, situations
they might be forced to deal with, emotions tapped into by interactions with
others…which surprisingly include people from my other world. Because I tend to
use places and settings I’ve experienced first-hand, it takes no real effort
for me to slide back and forth between my real-life world and my imaginary one.
It’s not unusual for me to tell my wife that I feel like I’m forgetting
something important or a task I was supposed to accomplish, only to remember
that it wasn’t me…but one of my characters who was having a memory lapse.
I’m guessing
this sort of behavior is normal for us writers, though I imagine it might be a
tad easier for those who write Sci-Fi or Fantasy, given their two worlds are so
dissimilar. That is unless the authors plot already involved two worlds (i.e. alternate
reality), then they’d have three worlds to contend with. :)
It’s really during
this stage of my writing that my other world is so dependent on me…and vice
versa. The longer the break between writing sessions, the more I feel my other
world begins to dwindle. Everything turns bleak…colors fade…shapes lose their definition…and
the dialogue between characters loses its sense of spontaneity. I must plug in…like
Neo jacking into the Matrix…if only for a small time to keep the world vibrant
and alive. And when I’m in that world, I become a just a shadow in the other.
Straddling both worlds’ leads to distraction and confusion, but living in one
or the other is just as unsatisfactory.
But that’s
our life as writers…right? An inhabitant
of two worlds, and where the question of which one is more real, is not
always a simple answer.
I'm currently drafting, too, and I know EXACTLY what you mean. I think it's all about balance... it's important to spend some time in the Other World, and to do it regularly, for short periods of time every week (or every day if possible!). I also find that if I'm away from my books for too long, the worlds and the characters start to fade and it takes more for me to get back into it when I'm ready to pick up the threads.
ReplyDeleteNormal for all of us, no matter what genre! I have one foot in RL and the other in my Cherry Hill, GA. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail on the head with this
ReplyDelete"The longer the break between writing sessions, the more I feel my other world begins to dwindle."
I write in fantastical worlds with magic and monsters, but my characters have to be just as real as people I come in contact with every day. It's easier to stay passionate about that world when I spend time there every day, even if it's only a few minutes.
Isaac Asimov used to kiss the walls and floor of his precious "room" whenever he got away from the wife - who was always trying to drag him away from the typewriter, LOL. I enjoyed reading your story and I know what you mean. We all have an Achilles heel! Thanks for sending everyone to my corner of the universe. High fives DL.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! I've done the same thing where I've thought I needed to do something but it was my character - such a bizarre feeling - at least the first time it happens :)
ReplyDeleteThat is frighteningly true. I think it's also why writers are encouraged to take a month off between finishing a novel and editing it. Things that seem obvious to you while you're living in that written world suddenly get plot holes when you come back from your vacation. (Was that castle purple or green? Did the attack happen before or after the fishing tournament? How would any readers know about the meteor shower since I didn't write it!?!)
ReplyDeleteThe two worlds are wonderful though. And when we publish, we let others come play in the new world we created. That's a very spiritual experience for me.