Emotional Midpoints
and minor breakdowns.
(My dad had a boom box like this when I was growing up. We took it camping. So many fond memories stored in those speakers.)
I have spent nearly a week writing one scene. Just one.
ONE.
Thing is, it’s not really just any scene. It’s a biggy. An important one.
The one that changes everything.
So, I naturally had to sit there, chipping away at this scene one word at a time, trying to figure out why the words weren’t flowing. I don’t do rigid outlining and I don’t follow a beat sheet.
But, I have thought about it for weeks and weeks. I can see it in my mind from two different POVs. I know what needs to happen.
So why the hell couldn’t I get the words on the page?
There was something missing, but I couldn’t figure it out. I was ready quit (not really—I’m being dramatic because it felt dramatic). But, I was ready to call it a day and move onto the next scene (although, I couldn’t do that either—this one is too important).
The emotional midpoint (for those of you who don’t know) is the point in the story where the character understands something they didn’t before—and once they do, there’s no going back.
Which is great for the story.
And slightly less great when you are the one trying to write it.
As some of us like to say, the words weren’t wording.
However, when you are in the thick of drafting and your characters are about to have a conversation that changes everything—the words have to word.
So, I sat down, and did some noodling.
I thought about all the other pivotal moments I have already written in this story (as well as every other story I’ve drafted in the past several years) and realized they all had something in common—a song to go with them.
Please welcome my favorite form of procrastination.
There really is nothing better than spending a few hours listening to song after song, until you find the one that makes your heart beat a little bit faster. The one that gets under your skin. The one that you can hear your main character humming while she makes donut holes at 6am on a Sunday.
The one that unlocks the words.
If you want to hear the song that unlocked the words, check it out below.
Do you have anything that unlocks words for you? I’d love to hear what it is.
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