563 words on the revision.
Relentless writhing rhythm of the tide, demented mutterings of moonlight. My pen took me on another adventure yesterday. 
I am ashamed to admit it but I am still building the magic system in my revision. I know I am supposed to have it all figured out, but there were certain aspects that I just couldn’t seem to drill down to. I understand how and when each gimmick comes into play, but I have serious gaps in my understanding of why.
Why is my heroine able to return from what I call the higher consciousness? She herself doesn’t entirely understand, and so therefore I don’t either.
Maybe I find it easier to write from the character’s perspective if we are both equally in the dark about the cause, and I grope for the answers in the same way she does. As for the main character, he doesn’t know anything about the power he wields, which was as I always intended, and yet he wields it anyway, subconsciously, instinctively.
Kind of like the way I write. Maybe I feel if I know every nuance and the exact pseudo-science behind it, that I might inadvertently give it away too soon? I don’t know for sure.
It does keep me coming back to writing the story though. Those words- pulsing in rhythm, resonating between the drum of the surf, the drone of the planes overhead and the mutterings of the moon, somewhere between all these songs Dr. Milo’s luminous potions sustained this life- were my muse looking for ways to explain what lay behind the magic, and what brought these events into motion. My characters searched for answers along with me.
Writing, for me, feels similar to reading but better since I don’t ever have to suffer a disappointing ending again. I’m behind the wheel of this story, even though it feels a little rough sometimes. In fact, if I feel like it, I can write multiple endings and enjoy each one. Then pick which one I like the best.
This is probably wrong, and puts me firmly in the camp of the pantsers. But it gets me consistent words, and gives me great joy. So I keep writing.
(Photograph by Seemann @ morguefile.com)
