Kris Leliel, mystic and creative spirit, loves to write about metaphysics, the occult, and literature, especially horror. Their debut horror short, "Autonomy Bleeds Black" is available on Kindle and other eBook platforms.
It’s been a while. I really had to think about how I needed to approach my first and second draft with more tact than just “vomit writing”. I worried a lot about repeating the same mistakes, but I think I figured out how to check and double check myself without it being stressful. Actually, it’s become a lot more fun. Taking a big picture approach to the prep work that John Truby suggested (from the last entry) has made sifting through the first draft of the novel so much more exciting. Perhaps this is obvious to anyone who’s written anything, but I was inevitably the one putting so much pressure on myself I ended up paralyzed…again. Hey, at least I’m out of that funk now. So, here’s the new approach I have.
“Since there was nothing at all I was certain of, since I needed to be provided at every instant with a new confirmation of my existence, since nothing was in my very own, undoubted, sole possession, determined unequivocally only by me — in sober truth a disinherited son — naturally I became unsure even of the thing nearest to me, my own body.” – Franz Kafka, “Letter to My Father”
My first draft characters are becoming more believable (and pretty messed up) in the second draft. I love it. However, that is only one pleasure out of the many other struggles I’ve been dealing with. Lately, working through my second draft either feels like a brand new story or pulling teeth and reminding me of how chaotic my first draft really is. I didn’t have a solution to this dilemma until I ran into a video interview of John Truby, American screenwriter, director, and screenwriting teacher (Wikipedia), on YouTube Channel FilmCourage where he explained exactly what I was going through.
Okay, so I’ve been behind on VPD for a bit. To get my head back in the writing zone for my novel, I wanted to do a genre study. Horror and magical realism are my favorite genres to blend. My first published attempt at doing this is my horror short “Autonomy Bleeds Black” where pain and power manifested into elemental forces. One of my favorite magical realism works is Pan’s Labyrinth directed by Guillermo Del Toro. I’m a huge fan of Del Toro’s and am grateful that Pan’s Labyrinth was my introduction to him. In interviews, he’s described this film to be very personal as someone who lived under strict and religious conditions, but used fantasy works and other genres to escape. Often our escapes become reflections of our inner world and help us interpret what’s going on within us subconsciously and consciously.
Close your eyes. Fall. Let her catch you; if she doesn’t, know that there’s no intention to break your trust, but unconsciously keep a better promise through a deep dive into your psyche.
Before my writing session, I had to watch a little Jenna Moreci, a bestselling author who gives wonderful, if not sarcastic, writing advice. My favorite quote from this video: “All fantasy should be based off of medieval Europe because it’s the law.”
That part of me was never me. Damning guilty pleasures. Praying for my convicted spirit. Decreeing my flesh stay separate from my soul.
Writing session (2nd draft writing/editing/research): 1276 words - four hours Today was a better day. I’m getting into a flow. Beautiful ideas are coming to me. Writing is a joy again!