Well, I'm stuck. I have this story that is 80% done, and it's been 80% done forever, and final 20% is just eluding me. Part of it is that the story isn't really linear, so there are more than the usual number of options for placing pertinent information, and the placement of information necessary to produce a story that builds effectively to the conclusion is therefore trickier. A huge part of it is that I have to describe a profoundly transformational experience in a way that both conveys the experience and isn't built of woo-woo 'explain the unexplainable' cliches. Huh, while writing this I have come to realize that the reason these cliches kept popping up is that I don't have a good idea of what the experience would be like and have not been drawing on my own spiritual experiences when writing about it. I think I'm no longer stuck....so, there you go, the writing process in action.
By the way, I am more than happy to have any advice about writing spiritual experienes (even though that isn't precisely what I'm writing about), or any sensations/recollections/feeling tones from similar things in your own lives. I have a feeling that scene will still be a bear to write.
Go Erica! See? Posting here cures writers block.
The extremely spiritual moments in my life have tended to make me feel like I'm fainting. But maybe that's my low blood pressure acting up. That's probably not very helpful.
Posted by: Catherine Shaffer | June 04, 2004 at 08:07 PM
Writing transformational or spiritual experiences is =hard.= The best advice I can give is to think back to a time when you had one and try to capture that feeling in words.
--Steven
Posted by: Steven Harper Piziks | June 15, 2004 at 01:39 PM