[Lhundulinwen]

I too have never finished a larger work. Of course, I had never thrown myself in heart and soul into a project before now, except a few wonderful poems. I knew how to do a magnificent poem; find a strong emotion, memory or idea and open my mind and let my fingers type or write whatever came out. Editing comes so much later. Editing too soon always sucked the soul out of my poems.

Now I understand how to do larger works also. Its the same process except a lot longer, at least for me. Within the first pages five pages of my quietly growing novel, I got stuck. I had no idea how to move the plot along. I never ouline, (it makes my projects all seem so predictable), so I was staring at a roadblock. I was already in love with my characters, so I couldn't just throw them away.

I set the whole thing aside for about two weeks. I was outside running, (after a cow no less. Ah, the joys of agriculture) and it hit me. I knew who, where, what and when. It all fell into place. I learned a lot about my characters in that flash. A hidden past, a hidden talent, a few new gifts... it really was magic.

Which is why I LOVE to write. I don't understand where the inspiration comes from in most of my projects. It is really hard just to let yourself go, and not listen to your inner critic, but when you do, it is such a wonderful feeling. Its like dreaming while being conscious, directing your own personal movie or floating above the story you are creating. Sure, most of what you write will be edited out, but for me, this is the only way to get the meat of the story and those little details we all love in our stories.