A good part of my brain operates in the logical-space (hemisphere? region?).
Even though I consider myself pretty intuitive, I find that I’m able to logic my way into or out of anything. And it’s not just about solving problems or being able to pass differential equations with flying colors (which, I did). My logic brain is uniquely skilled at cornering me into situations I’d rather not be in. Like, falling into an anxiety-ridden shame spiral over how to make money without a traditional “job” or getting stuck in my story because I need to “think about where it’s going” more.
Which wouldn’t be a problem except that I’m someone who learns what my stories are by living inside them. I need to write about forgotten castles in the woods through my character’s eyes, not analyze what plot structures I should try to shoehorn my story into. (Not that there’s anything wrong with someone who needs to, say, outline their entire book before writing it in great detail. But that’s not me.)
And yet, I still went down the analytical-style internet research binge for 3 solid years trying to find the “right” answers for how to write a novel. (Spoiler alert, there isn’t any one “right” way and every rule has been successfully broken at some point or another.)
I think the problem is that we, as a society, tend to value logic over intuition. We like when you can solve for X and show your work on the page. But maybe that’s not what all of us need? Maybe there’s a way we can give ourselves permission to just write and see where it goes?
If that doesn’t work, I’ll meet you on the internet at 3 am blearily binging someone’s YouTube video about how to write a book in a day.
(# Of words I wrote for my manuscript today: 312)