**Weekends 32-45**
Writing the Meditation Draft
We are picking up speed now. Hang on to your shorts and work with me here.
“The book or story shapes up– assuming its own specific form– during a process of meditation that is the second stage in composition…The meditation may be, or seem to be, wholly conscious. The writer asks himself (or herself, themselves) questions– ‘What should the characters do at this point? How can I build to a climax?’ – and answers them in various fashion…”- Malcolm Cowley, Writers at Work
Well, that was confusing, but, okay.
Now John Gardner calls the meditation process a kind of brooding. This is when you finish your first draft and read it over and over. Letting the writer’s mind absorb the material so it can wander through it slowly and effectively. You can find unintended repetitions and writing ‘tics’ during these reads. This was quite helpful for me when in the final stages of O-B*tch-uary. I found I had a rather annoying tic or repetitive statement. Like, it was in the first draft nearly five hundred times. Yea, a lot. Argh.
With that annoyance, I am in need of a very large and hot refill. Are you up for a fresh cuppa and a nibble? We are still waiting on the delivery of our new refrigerator- tomorrow. We have a little one we kept in the basement for overflow but now we have no overflow. It is now our main source of chilled products. Come on. Let’s fill up and get down to business. Someone go and roll out the reading rug while I add milk to my cuppa caffeinated goodness. I have my copy of The Weekend Novelist by Robert J. Ray ready to go. Grab your copies and settle in.
This is the draft where you allow your imagination to transform the norm to something more by adding details. It could be the quality of paper used to write a Dear John or Joan letter. Was it written in pencil and were there eraser marks? Does the character attempt to read the words erased or crossed out? This can be powerful. In our meditation draft we should allow ourselves to transform the everyday idea to something magical. Magical can be literal or in the creative aspect of your scene. You can make a scary or sad scene magical in the way it is laid out on the page.
The Next Fourteen Weeks
As you are brooding and reevaluating your work, it is best to reshape your key scenes first. This will allow you to make changes in smaller scenes leading up to and away from these turning point moments. Take three weekends to do this. Give it thought throughout the week.
Take notes on possible changes you would like to work in. Once the key scenes are done go back to Act One and make the changes and reshape as you go. With your book contained and controlled in its creation, you’ll finish it in no time.
Polish your sparkle and keep twirling.
Find joy. Be joy. Enjoy.
I’m always looking for new friends!
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New Ink. Used Ideas. 