Energy Currents and the Writing Cycle
Writing with Energy.
Yesterday evening, energy flagging, I pulled my car to a stop at a deserted rotary. In the shadow of an overpass, a black sign board crouched. The letters, upper case for seriousness were picked out with yellow bulbs. They glowed in the twilight.
Night Work Begins.
I wasn’t sure whether the pronouncement was meant as a warning, a promise, or a prediction. Maybe the person who chose the wording ran out of space for the date on the front and had to put the rest of the message on the back of the sign. Perhaps the head of the DPW ordered something prosaic in the vein of Road Work Ahead.
Instead, that employee created a shimmering invitation, a tantalizing whisper of mystery.
Because each word pulses with an energy of its own.
I associate night with quiet endings, projects laid aside, lingering caresses drifting into dream. But the thriller reader in me links darkness of night with obscured vision and hidden menace.
Night can symbolize danger but also promise. Midnight, the tipping point into tomorrow, has a distinct sort of momentum, an excitement of its own. Midnight is the moment of change.
Beginnings invigorate even while they are scary. Beginning a new relationship, a new direction, or even starting that novel you always dreamed of writing creates as much energy as it consumes.
And work? The act of writing surges with energy.
Even on days I hate the process, I use energy to hate it. On days I love it, my writing carries me as much as I carry it. But even when the words come easily, when the plot falls into place and the characters do exactly what they need to do, it’s due to night work.
I write, plot, edit and re-edit during the day but huge leaps happen overnight.
The energy we absorb, redirect and share during the day doesn’t dissipate when we close our eyes. It snaps and sizzles its way from one idea to another, interconnecting thoughts and ideas in ways we cannot predict. And could not have linked as easily any other way.
Some of my best writing happens when Night Work Begins.
Rose Grey has written three romance novels and is hard at work on a fourth. If you liked this post, come visit the rest of the blog at www.rosegreybooks.com. Hot Pursuit and Not As Advertised are available as ebooks and as paperbacks online.
