Writing and Whacking

Nope, I'm not talking about whacking that first draft of a WIP apart...I'm talking about writing that first draft by weed whacking. Seriously.

I hate yard work. Immensly. Let me plant flowers and I'm happy. Make me mow or weed whack and I'm a pistol. Just don't like it at all. Sweaty, sticky and lots of wasted time. Seriously, wasted because usually my brain function while wackin' the weeds goes something like this: "The sky is blue. It's frikkin' hot. The grass is green. I can't feel my arms." And on and on.

Not so last weekend. The DH and I tagged-teamed the yard - he mowed, I whacked - and I actually didn't zone off into nothingness. I got some work done! I've been struggling with the opening scene of my next book. I knew how I wanted it to begin but that wasn't working. As I was whackin' da weeds, I realized I was starting too late. I needed a scene before the "opener"... I whacked a little more and thought What If... and whacked a little more and realized What If was what I was missing. I kept on whacking and working out the new scene which pretty much jumped fully formed from my subconscious and into my consciousness as I finished up the edging. But it still wasn't fully...right, you know? So I was percolating with it and voila! more hard labor - this time of the packing variety. My MIL is moving, so we've been helping her pack. I was packing up the dining room - wrapping plates, packing boxes, finding safe places for all the chachkies to live while boxes...and my brain just started going. The scene from weed whacking? Kind of wrote itself, a better twist on where the heroine is coming from - because she's been kind of...flat to this point - was made clear and the driving force in keeping the hero and heroine apart crystallized.

Serious plus side: once we got home I managed to remember everything and it leaped from my head and onto the page. The notes page - I haven't gotten it all in chapter form just yet.

And a few days later, I still love it! That scene sets off the feel so well. And I'm crossing my finger that the rest will develop just as easily.

Who knew hard labor could be so helpful? Do you find hard labor helpful to your writing process?