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Today's writing tip: before getting near the keyboard I spend as much time as I can running the scene I plan to write through my head, over and over, making little adjustments. I think it's vital to do this *before* sitting down at the keyboard because...
...the moment you start typing actual words the work starts to solidify and fewer options come to mind because you've committed yourself to those words given the effort in writing them. I visualize every scene end to end away from the computer like unspooling a film roll....
...and watching the movie. Then I back it up and start making small changes. What if we change this, or that? Flip it upside down? Make it more about Character B than A even though it's A's scene? While it's just inside your head it's all fluid and infinitely malleable...
I only sit down to actually write the scene when it's finished to my satisfaction, so at that point I'm not *deciding* what to write I'm just *remembering* what the characters did earlier and writing it down, which is far less stressful. Then I can write as fast as I can type.
Being open to experimentation is so vital to creating something interesting and not typing until you're ready to commit lets you take the pre-set clothes line of that narrative and turn the camera around in various directions to find the most interesting way to frame it.
