Weave Your Thread

Confession time. I’m stuck. Majorly stuck. I have a work-in-progress that’s just about finished. The problem is, finishing it has become my nemesis because of one small six-letter word—”thread.” No, not the kind of thread you use to sew a pillow. (Does anyone do that anymore?) This thread is supposed to tie my entire story together, from beginning to end. It’s the flow, the connection. The comforting, calming feeling at the end of a story that makes the reader sigh with pleasure.

All things my book is missing. It’s become threadbare even before it had a chance to reach the shelves. What do I do?

My friend, who is a certified elementary school teacher, suggested an idea to me over a cup of coffee the other morning. She said, “I’m going to tell you what I used to tell my fifth graders.” Great, now I’m like a fifth-grader? But she gave me three steps to take, and I’m going to pass them along to you. Because small and seemingly simple they might be, they are what is helping me to get unstuck. So here you go. And please, don’t take offense if you’re older than a fifth-grader!

1. Double space your draft

              Ok, you might be saying, “uh, duh, Tracy,” right about now if you write your W-I-P using double spaced lines. Until recently, I did not. And I’ve learned my lesson.  

2. Using different colored ink for each character, note every incident or place where you can add the thread

              All you need to do here is just make a note. If I have an idea, I might add my thoughts here. Otherwise, all you need to do is take one character at a time and just note it, so you can come back to it later.

3. Go back and add between the lines how to weave the thread in

              Here’s where the double spacing comes in handy. Let those creative juices flow as your main focus is on writing short pieces about the thread.

That’s it? That’s it! Easy, right? Like I said, I’m still stuck, but as I focus on one character and go through these steps, I’ve been able to slowly pull out of that all-too-familiar feeling of complete overwhelm, ready to chuck the computer out the window. Slowly I’m seeing my thread weave the story into something completely unexpected and better than I could have imagined.