AHA Moments in Writing by Diane Bator

A-ha moments. Writers have had them.
In fact, we've ALL had them at some time or another.

For writers, we've all had sections of a story where we just can't move past a certain hurdle, or even if we do the story just doesn't work for us. It's not really writer's block, but just a niggly feeling that the book we are writing isn't quite working but we can't put our finger on why even after the entire manuscript is complete.

While working on Written in Stone, my current works in progress scheduled for release in November 2021, I've had one little part of the story that hasn't seemed right for months. How to create a fire that doesn't damage the structure of a building. I was so focused on that ONE detail, that I didn't even look at the rest of the book for a bigger, more glaring issue. The main character's entire background and how it affects the plot of my novel.

By definition, an aha moment is a point where an important insight, choice or decision is made. I think of it as a release from what some people call Writer's Block. Oddly enough, my own aha moment came this weekend while digging in rocks on the shores of Lake Huron where I look for seaglass. (I suppose lakeglass would be a more suitable term.) With my hands busy, my mind wandered.

I wasn't even thinking about the book at the time, yet it rushed at me like a large wave and solved a couple of the big problems with one opening scene that explained yet not overwhelmed the reader with information while jetting the story along smoothly. Yes, I made notes when I could, then later sat and wrote out the entire chapter. My next step is to add them to the novel and see how well it works and what other changes I need to make.

That solved one problem. Now I need to go back through the entire novel to make it flow.
I also have to figure out what to do with all my seaglass!

Have a wonderful day and let your creativity flow!

Diane Bator