The Creative Mundane

Is I often tell my daughter, somethings in life we have to do, even if we don’t want to. The biggest thing for me on that list is the deep house cleaning. The pulling the couch out and vacuuming underneath and checking the ceiling corners for cobwebs. With company coming, this was one of those days where I had to set aside the writing and editing until after I did the mundane. Clean my house.

The thing is, as much as I hate doing these chores, the time spent becomes a field day for my creativity. I’ve mentioned here before about how a lot of problem scenes work themselves out while I’m driving. The same holds true while I’m cleaning. Whether I’m running the vacuum or scrubbing pots and pans, the physical action–and the little brain power required to do the task–allows me to zone out of my life and into my characters lives.

Or maybe escaping my life for theirs is more like it!

While this might not have been a productive day–so far I haven’t typed a single new word, or edited a written sentence–I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing my plot. As previously stated, I start my stories with a minimal amount of plot and let my characters write the tale. So what I’m left when I begin my second draft is the layers, or the real craft. Things that happen at the midpoint or later, may need a touch of foreshadowing. Characters that showed up at the climax, probably need a less formal introduction in the first few chapters.  All important, and all can be tricky to weave into the prose.

So while some may swear by the red pen or the delete key (And don’t get me wrong, those are two of my favorite writing tools too) Just as effective for me is a dust mop and a scrub brush.