Frantic Thought and Precise Planning

Having a brief lull from deadlines can be alluring, but one must keep busy lest they fall into the honeyed trap of complacency and idle fancy. Today, I set aside one of the less pressing projects to catch up a bit on reading and research, and to immerse myself in a bit of pure prose for its own sake. That’s not to say it won’t develop into something, but suffice it to say, on Houdini’s birthday, I wanted to do something a bit magical.

I always tell you it’s good to take a break from your main work on occasion–providing you have the luxury of time and someone isn’t awaiting you to wrap something up–so I took my own advice and blew some of the cobwebs out of my noggin. It forced me to break free from some of the typical structural constraints I usually am restricted to, nor did I have to concern myself with multiple permutations of outcomes, I could choose just one. Admittedly, however, my RPG-centric mind still drifts to other potentialities and outcomes.

The frantic thought was the normal part of the process where I dredge through the murky waters of my mind to find a concept which I can then solidify through the outlining process until it takes some definite shape. Was everything I wrote today golden? Absolutely not. There were a few false starts and feeling about for the proper beginning and overarching thrust of the work. This advice is equally advantageous to whatever you’re working on–you have to find the proper beginning and it may not be obvious or waiting there for you–but you can’t beat yourself up over words poured down on paper. The purging is necessary to get to the real stuff lurking there. The more you do it, the more you’ll find it not buried so far down.

Today, all in all, was a good day. I got quite a mental workout and look forward to tomorrow with much vim and vigor!

Until next time, I bid you, dear reader, adieu!