A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Thousand-And-Fifty-Four

I am finding that I am slowing down a bit in my writing for the last week or so.  I had been more active, but right now seems to be a period of thought.  I've been contemplating a few new ideas for longer pieces.  One is the next part of the same project I have been working on, but it is a deviation from the previous sections.  I wasn't certain what I wanted to do with it, but I think I have a better grasp on it now.  The general idea has to do with crafting a character with certain positive qualities and I was having trouble thinking of what to do with them, as I want the characteristics to be important to the story, and needed to figure out what they would be motivated to do.  A large chunk of the idea has come into view for me, but I am not certain of the specific plot, but it is coming together.

As well, as I think I might have mentioned, I am also beginning to work on a new short play.  The general concept is about a person on a spiritual pilgrimage to meet some hermetic sage is lead to a talking animal.  They believe this animal is the guide they have been seeking, but the animal refutes this, stating that most people can talk, so why should an animal doing it be considered smarter than the average person.  I have a bit more in my head about it and am exploring the concept.  I've not started to write it yet, but I think I have a good grasp of the general structure.  I want to push it a bit further, to develop a sense of the characters, to get it beyond just running on the premise.  I feel like there is something more to the idea that has not yet become clear to me, some layer to the metaphor that I have yet to unwrap.  I do have a lot more of the details in mind already, so I might need to get writing and see how it goes.  I think I do have some sense of thematic elements that it might reach towards, but I don't want to push it in the wrong direction and am not yet certain what is the right one.

So, even if I am not writing quite as much these days, I feel very engaged with the work.  My biggest complaint against my current practices is the way I am often skipping writing in the morning.  I think the best solution to that will be getting to bed earlier, or maybe it will resolve if I can get better treatment for my sleep apnea, but in any case, I am often low on energy in the morning and can't muster the energy to start writing.  I should just push myself to do it anyway, but that does not always happen.  Hopefully my writing this will help to propel me when that choice arises tomorrow.

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