Obsession by Carla Damron

Will you forgive me if I post about my work-in-progress, Bird on Limb, AGAIN? It’s not like I’m obsessed with it or anything. I mean, just because I dream about the characters, jot down notes on work meeting agendas about plot points, or spend most of my waking (and, apparently, sleeping) moments thinking about it—that doesn’t mean I’m obsessed.

So what if I listen to it on my Kindle whenever I take my walks at the gym or in my neighborhood? It’s perfectly normal to stop dead in my tracks and attempt to add a little note to the text about a missing word or screwy sentence construction. All walkers do that, don’t they?

And yes, sometimes when you were in a conversation with me, I sort of spaced out, but you must understand—I do hear you, but I also hear the characters in my brain aching to tell me their story. Sometimes it affects my ability to pay attention.

Perhaps I am mentally ill.

No, but I have a pretty good understanding of what mental illness must feel like.

Last week, I completed a draft. 96,000 words. (Yeah, it’s probably too long so I will be pruning.) I’ve sent it to some trusted readers: my siblings, because they will have good suggestions while offering assurances that I am a wonderful writer. Everyone needs this kind of biased feedback when they finish a draft.

I also sent it to two fellow writers, because they will tell me the TRUTH. They will identify micro issues such as spelling/grammar/skipped words, etc., but more importantly, they will look at the overall arch of the story. They will tell me what works. What doesn’t. What might be deepened. What needs to be removed.

This type of feedback is gold. When they identify a weak sub-plot or poorly defined character, I must not be defensive. I must see it at as an assignment: fix it. Or remove it. That’s my job in rewrites.

In my acknowledgements page in The Stone Necklace, I had a long list of people to thank. Why? Because for me, it takes a village. If writing is communication, the first half is my putting words on paper. The second half is readers taking in those words and their intent. I only know if the second half works by letting readers offer honest, constructive criticism. As readers in my writers’ group, in writing residencies I attend do. Readers like my siblings and trusted writing partners. They are a gift to any writer.

Now that I’m in the revision phase, the obsession has diminished. So, it’s okay to have a conversation with me now. The characters have quieted. I’m capable of focusing on other things. Slowly, I’ll become less in love with this novel I’ve birthed. That’s good, too, because some objectivity will allow me to be a more effective editor.

Maybe next blog, I won’t have to write about Bird on Limb.

Maybe.

What are you working on? Or reading? Do you ever find yourself obsessed?