Writing Wednesday: The New and the Old

I haven’t blogged regularly in months, probably for at least the last year. I didn’t blog much over the summer. My kids were home, I was having serious health issues, and I had to focus my attention on my paid editing jobs.

Now that my kids are back in school, I may attempt more regular updates. We’ll see. For today, though, I’m going back to an old project by doing some new things. Well, new to the WIP at hand, but not new to me (or in general).

I bought a new tarot deck. I don’t use the cards for personal reading or to read for others. That’s not my thing nor my area of expertise. Instead, I use them to open my mind creatively for character development and story building.

There’s no one correct way to do this, but for the very curious, I’ve used several methods. For previous WIPs, I’ve simply done a reading on a particular character when I’ve gotten stuck about where to take them. I’ve also used various spreads recommended by other writers when a thorny problem cropped up in the story.

This time, I’m using a three-card spread to write my way through the Hero’s Journey. For the first part, I was simply confirming elements I’d already created and using the cards to flesh those out better. I’m halfway through writing (or so; it may be a bit less than that). Now I need to go deeper into the parts I haven’t written. I’ve made extensive notes, but the cards help put those notes into a usable format in my brain.

Anyway, I’ve shared snippets from this WIP before, and then I had to stop in order to finish my recently released novel (at glacial pace, but at least I got it done!). This is the one I’m calling my “epic road trip novel.” Because everyone has to write a literal journey at least once, right?

In this story, Luke’s been invited to travel across the U.S. with his friend and former lover, Connor. I’m not sure either of them knows what’s going to happen. It’s not a romance, so don’t expect a lot of time spent on their feelings toward each other. In this scene, Luke has trouble pulling himself from a nightmare.

Hot. So hot. Luke is burning up. He wakes then with a start, his heart hammering. There’s a rushing in his ears. He squirms, trying to get away from the source of the heat. If he doesn’t, he’s going to melt and disintegrate. Kicking out with his feet, he manages to shove off whatever is on top of him, holding in the warmth.

Over his head, rain drums on the roof, and the wind whistles. A shutter rattles. He has to get away before the storm reaches him, and he has to get the others. He runs to the door between the rooms and yanks it open, dashing through the shared bathroom. He pounds on the other door.

It opens, and there’s Connor, in only his boxer briefs and socks. He rubs his face. “Luke, what the hell? It’s the middle of the night.”

“We have to get out! The storm!” Luke doesn’t understand why Connor stands there, unmoving. They have to leave. He gasps for air. “Please!”

“Are you okay?” Connor’s voice is so calm.

“We have to get somewhere safe,” Luke pleads. His head is still sleep-foggy, and he shakes it to try to clear his mind.

“It’s just a summer storm.”

“No! No. We can’t go to the basement. It’ll flood when the creek rises. We have to get to the middle of the house.”

He tries to push past Connor and get to the outer door. If Connor won’t listen, he’ll find someone who will. Before he gets far, Connor reaches for him.

“Luke.” Firm, steadying. “Stop.”