Photo credit Simon Jigaj | Unsplash
I heard a Margaret Atwood quote, “Remember trees don’t grow from air, they grow from dirt,” which reminded me that the best way to grow things is to add fertilizer, and all of it was an encouraging shot in the arm as I slog through this manuscript…correction, OUTLINE.
I’ve decided calling it a 1st draft or manuscript was putting too much pressure to make it perfect from the get-go, but an **outline**, well, an outline can be full of plotholes and ums and uhhs and inconsistencies, which is yet another thing to remind myself off when I get frustrated when I notice my default reaction for the characters are their eyes.
Boy, those eyes. They dart, gaze, glance, watch, flicker, widen. They show the character’s uncertainty, irritation, indecision.
But, breathe, Natasha, breathe. It’s not a manuscript. It’s an outline, so who cares if “eyes” are mention 465,287 times in 10 pages? Remember fertilizer makes things grow. Don’t fret if it’s all poopy, right now.