A Little Planning May Not Kill Me (But It Might Kill Someone Else)

Put down your coffee. I don't want to cause nasal burns. 

I'm a bit dense on occasion.

Yes, yes, you can stop laughing.

The problem with being dense on occasion is that you can't see how dense you're being. That's why God gives us friends and gives them mouths.

TT: No friends helped me with this particular bout of denseness, possibly because I didn't share it with any of them. Probably because I didn't know I needed to. Maybe the solution was so obvious to them, they didn't think to ask if I'd thought of it. The VCR was not plugged in, folks. It's OK to ask.

That's the other problem with not knowing you're being dense. You don't know to sound a warning siren for help.

So what increased my mass beyond its usual proportions, I'll ask for you?

I've been piddling around with my WIP for about two months, moaning about writer's block, searching for inspiration in writing books or Xanth novels or long weekend meditations in my bedroom with my eyes closed and the curtains drawn (those would be "naps" for anyone who hasn't had their coffee yet).

This week my MCs moved out of the literal woods onto a sandy beach and the floodgates of inspiration opened.

Why?

I didn't know the terrain for the forest scenes. I thought I did. I know what a forest looks like. I've watched Willow.

TT: Not a lot of forests in Willow if you think about it. 

I've gone back over the previous writing and see I have no idea what kind of forest my MCs are in. Are we talking pines or oaks? Underbrush or no underbrush? Alpine? Ferns show up at one point. Do ferns belong wherever they are? Where the heck are they? I don't know! 

Now that I'm out on the beach where I and my MCs can see what they're doing, I'm having no trouble writing at all. Lots of things are dying. Lots of people are getting stabbed or shot. It's great!
Apparently, I know what a beach looks like and I have no trouble moving people around on one.
Who knew?

Writing lesson: as much as I hate research, being stuck for two months may be a signal to look at the terrain and do a little decision-making.

Raven's forest is fairly important to her. Time to decide what it looks like.