Losing the Remote. On a groggy Friday evening, I lost my TV remote. When I lost it this time, the TV input was in DVD mode. I can’t switch input signals from the TV-mounted controls. So I really needed to find it.

I looked in the obvious places, first. And when nothing turned up in those places, I looked in the I-can’t-believe-I-put-that-there places. I got a little frantic but decided that it was early in the weekend. I wanted it in time for Bones on Monday night.

Through my weekend of activities and errands, I looked for my remote when I thought about it, to no avail. One thing was stuck in the back of my mind and not too far: I was making this too hard.

Finding Your Story Line

It can be a lot like finding the remote control. Only in writing, it’s a bit more frustrating. You have your topic, tone, and your point of view, none of which addresses how you get your point across. Often, the bloodless way to get down to the path of your project is to start writing. I find what helps me is to list everything that I know about my topic.

Researching the topic can be part of the process, sometimes it yields the perspective you search for, yielding something that captures your attention. And it can prove you wrong, pointing you in a new direction.

So, don’t think that because you don’t know where you’re going in a topic, you need to dump it. It happens to writers, that we start out with one idea, decide how to reach it, and write until there’s a whole story and it only remotely resembles what was planned.

Added Benefits of Searching

Do you ever research a topic and get to a point where you’re just writing? I find that the research helps me to tap into the data that I have stored in my head. In an editing stage, I search for the information to verify my recollections.

I try not to keep my focus too narrow, like entertaining things that crossed my mind while searching for the remote control. I came up with dinner plans, weekend dress ideas, and this blog post. You definitely want to stay open to new thoughts, as, a good research session can lead to some very interesting tangents, so catch as many as you can.

So Where was My Remote?

Finding the remote. I didn’t tell you what happened with my remote. After a few thorough searches over two days, decided to pay attention to the voice in my head, the one that said I was working too hard. I decided to listen after I’d just bought a cheap remote on the way home Monday evening. It couldn’t adjust my input signals either. I sat at my desk thinking it would jog my memory. I thought for a moment, taking a slow look in the immediate area. And there it was on the floor, face down, blending in with the carpet. I picked it up and was able to tune in to Bones for the last half hour.

Related Entries

• chasing the poem
• writing life: 7 strategies to keep going
• Body Position Jogs Memory