Momentum

 I've taken several physics classes. I can't recite the formulae, but I do recall many of the "laws of physics". One that haunts me is "A body in motion tends to stay in motion." While written to reflect the momentum of a wheel, ball, or block sliding down a slope, it also applies to writing.

A corollary to that law is "A body at rest tends to stay at rest." Again, that applies to writing.

I'd like to add a second corollary to those "laws"; a body going north, tends to stay on that course rather than moving east, west, or south.

How do all those "laws" pertain to writing? Nevada Barr provided me with a wonderful piece of advice; "write three pages a day." She writes every day but limits herself to three pages. She writes her stories out longhand and transcribes them. When she's inspired, she writes very small. When uninspired, she writes large and on every other line. However, the momentum of writing three pages a day yields one book a year. She's adept at using that first law, staying in motion.

When life diverts me from writing, I become "a body at rest" and I tend to stay at rest. Restarting my writing momentum takes effort and thought. I usually have to reread the last few pages I've written, or look back on my rough outline, to restart my writing engine. It's sometimes painful, and often a slow process that takes several aborted attempts before the writing effort regains momentum. 

As for the second corollary, when I get distracted, it's very easy to remain distracted. For example, I have a friend who is an artist. She built an art studio in her house with the intention of going to the studio every morning to paint. She found the rest of her house too distracting. There were hundreds of things she could do, unrelated to her artistry. In the end, she rented a studio loft and "went to work" each day. In the loft, the only thing she could do was paint, and those household distractions were no longer an issue. For me, that means not getting into something, anything, other than writing. Changing the direction of my momentum from reading email, watching television, washing dishes, answering email, or searching the internet, is difficult. 

I find that mindless activities, like walking or showering, offer the greatest opportunity for my mind to wander. If I use that time to reflect on what I'm writing, I can usually return to the computer and start recording what the characters are saying to me. 

Yes, the characters speak to me. If I'm really into a story, they will sometimes wake me up, demanding that I capture their activities before the ideas slip away.  For some reason, Jill Fletcher, from the Park Service mystery series, is most emphatic. I'll awake with her "shouting" at me to get my butt out of bed and record what she has to say. Seriously. I'll make coffee, then sit at the computer and start recording dialogue and events. My wife will wander out of the bedroom later and ask, "How long have you been up?" The answer is often, "I've been up for about ten pages."

Doug and Jill Fletcher were extremely emphatic while I was writing "Western Justice". There was something about the Black Hills setting, an unidentified dead man, a general store/motel/bar, and a mysterious woman living in an RV that kept calling to me. A week-long trip to the Black Hills only intensified those calls, causing me to salt details of the area into the twisting story about a body found in the Vore Buffalo Jump Historic Site. The tiny town of Aladdin, Wyoming, population 15, was the perfect setting for the resolution of the story. 

As I've said in other blogs, writing a book's ending is like riding a train downhill on greased rails. My fingers were unable to keep up with the unfolding events. The momentum pulled me through the final 100 pages in just a few days. 

I hope you enjoy reading "Western Justice" as much as I enjoyed writing it. Or did I only record what the characters said? Either way, it was a joy to write. 

Hovey, Dean - BWL Publishing Inc. (bookswelove.net

https://www.amazon.com/Western-Justice-Doug-Fletcher-Book-ebook/dp/B0CQ6GLV6D/