So in this book, I knew there was a Thing that had happened in my protagonist’s past. I knew the Thing had a certain shape, and I had a dim idea of the sorts of effects it had on said protag. What I didn’t know was … what the Thing was.
For some writing processes, the thing to do would be to hold off writing and put some serious thinking time into what the Thing is, to work it out before starting, and this is probably the most common writing advice one sees under such circumstances. But that’s too abstract (for lack of a better word) for me. I’m a tactile sort of writer, and I need text beneath my hands and a character whose words are on the page before I can work these things out. So I started writing, got a few hints of who my protagonist was and of what his voice was like.
Then, when I was done for the day, on a walk home … the Thing came clear in my mind.
I honestly don’t think I would have worked it out any faster if I’d stopped writing to do so. And if I’d stopped writing, I wouldn’t have all those other words on the page
500 / 50000 words. 1% done!
(Plus 2000 words written in October and somewhat edited today. Which by NaNoWriMo standards apparently makes me a rebel but not a cheater.)