Boy howdy! Once I turned my MC loose and let her run wild, not only did my story take off in another whole direction, I was able to finish the first draft. Now the task of the holy rewrite. My publisher was correct, though. Until I gave up the notion of the story being about family, I couldn’t let the new story evolve. I was restricted by what I knew and what I felt my characters would and wouldn’t do. I was keeping them inside the box. What I needed to do was open that box and set my characters free.
The first cleansing was to make sure I removed all family names and locations. Next, I had to let my characters grow. Heck, I had no clue where the story would take me. I just knew it had to go. After I’d stewed for a week and plotted in my mind, the big challenge was just to jump back in, put my BIC (butt in chair) and write the dang story. That’s the real secret to writing….BIC and write the dang story. Then the real fun begins. Next week: the rewrite.
About Me
- Sandi
- Sandi Underwood was born a PK (Preacher’s Kid) in the beautiful East Tennessee Mountains, where family stories were passed down, generation-to-generation. Her love of writing was cultivated at an early age when family get-togethers and Church dinners-on-the-grounds provided an idyllic backdrop for memories that fuel her stories. Sandi’s early career included working with children in both the public and private sectors. Later in life, her path took a different direction, but her love of books was ever-present. Today, she shares a home with her rescue dog, Gus, and draws inspiration from her grandchildren as she continues to write for both children and adults. Learn more at www.sandiunderwood.net and track her writing journey at www.sandiu.blogspot.com, follow her on Twitter @SandiGCY, and like her Facebook page at Sandi Underwood/gcywriter or email her at sandiu@comcast.net.
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