Oh, brain, must we have the same conversation with every first draft?
BRAIN: No.
ME: What’s your problem this time?
BRAIN: You can’t do this.
ME: Why not?
BRAIN: Because you suck.
ME: That attitude is helping no one.
BRAIN: And the attitude that you don’t suck isn’t helping your solitaire score.
ME: Way to focus on what’s important, you lazy piece of–
BRAIN: Face it, you don’t know how to write anymore. All your character has to do is walk from point A to point B, but you don’t know how the hell to describe it. You don’t even have a clue where you’re going with this story.
ME: You said that with the last story, yet we got through the first draft and saw how wrong you were.
BRAIN: That was an exception.
ME: And the story before that…
BRAIN: Another exception.
ME: And the one before that…
BRAIN: That was–hey, look, something shiny!
In other words, the current WIP has been far more a slog than it should be. But as always, I plow through regardless. I think I might even be able to finish the first draft this week. But still, stupid brain.
Barbara A. Barnett 