Started drafting a new short story this week.
I'm taking a different approach, this time. For short stories, I usually just sit down and write it out, all in one go. At least for the first draft.
For this story, I'm doing a mix of outlining and writing. I jot down lines of dialog as they come to me, or -- in one case -- the whole opening scene came in flash, so I typed it up.
But the majority of the story is still vague to me, so I'm trying to fill it in via brainstorming and daydreaming. Sketching a map of where it’s taking place, thinking through why the town it’s set in exists, what it’s known for. Drafting histories for the main characters.
It’s fun, so it’s also hard to convince myself that it’s work. Necessary work, at that.
Because my guilty writer conscience wants to see words on the page. No matter that I’m not ready, the ideas only half-formed. For it, it’s sentences or nothing.
So I’m pushing back by reading a book specifically about short story techniques, using the authority of another writer to argue (with my guilt) that it’s okay to pause and think. That progress can mean no words save a character bio. That every story needs a good foundation, and that’s what I’m trying to build.
It’s working, so far. My guilt does listen, just not always to me.
What about you? How do you balance the need to feel productive with the background work that every story requires?
