Debora Dale Alt logo
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
where fear and passion collide
Debora Dale Alt logo
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
where fear and passion collide

The book-in-a-week workshop I took with April Kihlstrom was excellent. I wish I could recycle the free time I’d purposely scheduled for that week so I could use and reuse it, again and again. Alas, free time isn’t always easy to come by.

However, the flow is still there. What I learned from the workshop is how to silence that inner editor. At least for a little while. I find I am now able to let go of ‘perfection’ and just write. I find myself falling deeper and deeper into character and watching – as a reader – the story develop right in front of me. There are times now when I’m writing so quickly, so firmly inside my character’s head, that I’m left breathless and wishing I could simply turn the page and see what happens next. How cool to fall so deeply into the story that I forget I’m its creator.

Now, just because I’ve hogtied and gagged my inner editor, don’t think I’m writing sloppy. I’m just writing fast because I’ve finally – FINALLY – realized this first draft is for my eyes only. It doesn’t matter if I replace a couple of key descriptive words with ???’s, it doesn’t matter if I’m not sure whether hero and heroine are traveling north or east. What matters is that mood, voice and flow of story remain constant. And constant happens naturally when there’s forward motion only – not back and forth nit-picking until that inner editor is somewhat satisfied.

I’ve now come to the middle of my story. Chapter 10. Over and out. Just days ago, I’d finished Chapter 9 and struggled – as usual – to ‘start’ the next chapter. The beauty of this is that I can reread the last couple of paragraphs I’d written and I’m immediately sucked back into the story and ready to roll… when free time allows.

Now if only I could find a way to hogtie time…