by Julia Buckley
I have a work in progress. What is written so far, my writing group tells me, is good, solid. I have also written an ending--I needed to get it on paper while I had it in my head, and I knew what was going to happen to this protagonist before I wrote the first sentence.But the hardest part happens now. I need for this woman to get from where she is now to where she will be at the end. I know basically what she must do to reach that destination. Somehow, though, I can't seem to cross that bridge. I've been putting off writing for weeks now, because I just can't figure out the best way to do it.
So here I stand, knowing where to go but somehow unable to go there. I liken it to standing before a bridge that is rickety or crumbling or on fire. The bridge is daunting, so the traveler (me) refuses to cross.
What steps does one take to cross the bridge anyway? I know that the obvious answer is to put myself in the chair and write until I find my way. But I'm avoiding it the way I used to avoid the Riverside Shakespeare in college right before the big final. It wasn't that I couldn't do it--it was that it was too big, too daunting. I fell into the habit of avoidance.
So, readers and writers, what tips do you have to help me forge into the fire? I know other people must have been in this place before--so I'll be happy to take advice from fellow travelers who have already crossed the bridge.
(Photo: Sunset over Lake Michigan; Ian Buckley, 2010).