Going Way Back And Lists

Been on a writing binge lately, and this time I’ve gone in an entirely new direction. I’ve abandoned a rough draft I’ve worked on for the past year, and started something new. This time I’m going way back in my point of reference. What has surprised me so far, is that it seems easier to write about something that happened 25 years ago, than it is to write about something 5 years ago. Not sure if the formative years of my life ring truer, or if an increased amount of hindsight has given me a better perspective.

Another factor that has helped, is my freelance gig. As my editor duties have changed, I’ve been writing more lately-- list articles, which are pop-culture based, tabloid gossip type of stuff. Most of the content is babble and garbage, but the list factor forced an new style of organization, by just taking one entry (or in fiction, a chapter) at a time. I never used to write the chapter titles before the actual chapters, an approach that has added a larger clarity to the work. The direction of the narrative forms over its chapters, instead of inside its chapters.

Who knows, maybe it’s just a change in characters, setting and POV, which has fuelled my latest writing binge. Either way, I’ll gladly accept the momentum and will try to keep pushing it forward the best I can.