Happy or Sad?

The question on my mind today is 'When it comes to working toward your dream does it matter if you're happy or sad?'

Trying to write a romantic love scene can be hard when you recently got your heart stomped on. I think we've all been there, done that. But pain can also push you to a new level of intimacy on the page. It willreflect in your characters. You may not mean to do it. Heck, you may not even realize you are doing it. Nevertheless it's there.

Plus this could be theraputic. How many psychatrists instruct patients to write out their feelings, what they're thinking, and how they plan to overcome their problems.

I'm not saying you need to make your fictional character a prolific version of yourself to share your issues with the world, especially if you plan on selling your story. People have issues of their own. What I am saying is to channel your emotions through your work. Let your emotiotns help breath life into what you are working toward.

Now let's put this into perspective with the question at hand. Say you are barreling through your manuscript. FULL STEAM AHEAD!!! One chapter at a time. No skipping around. You haven't a clue where the story is taking you. Then in the middle of your fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants thrill ride you (like me) have a sudden tragedy in your life. How can you breath life into a story when you feel all is lost, especially if you are in the middle of a happy-go-lucky moment?

My solution...Skip around. No one ever said you have to write your novel from beginning to end. Write what moves you. This is very important because, if you don't, who knows how long you will have to grieve before you can get back on the proverbial writing wagon.

To clarify: By all means grieve. Do whatever you need to do to work through whatever it is you have going on in your life. You come first. If you do not take care of yourself first everything else: your dream, kids, spouse, normal day job, etc. etc. will fall by the wayside. But if you are like me, and your writing is part of what makes you tick then you MUST keep typing.

And who knows, maybe you'll surprise yourself. There is great beauty to behold in your imaginary world. Grab the pen and bring it to life.