undoing a shape

Last night I was writing Dorina’s story and I was getting nothing out of my head. Was drinking cane juice and listening to the ballgame and falling in bed and it just wasn’t working, I kept asking myself, how can I establish the fact that Dorina owns the café while the narrator left her and came back even after she had gone mad… All this, in under 2000 words?

Then I tell myself, in the early stages of drafting a story, it’s important to let it go and be willing to experience with different forms. Allow lots and lots of room for the shape of the story to change. Let the characters write themselves. Had I known that before, I would have walked less long roads to complete my previous stories. It’s all part of discovering the craft. Naturalness wins.