{"id":4954,"date":"2019-07-27T11:03:09","date_gmt":"2019-07-27T15:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/?p=4954"},"modified":"2019-07-24T11:09:54","modified_gmt":"2019-07-24T15:09:54","slug":"the-joy-of-getting-lost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/27\/the-joy-of-getting-lost\/","title":{"rendered":"The Joy Of Getting Lost"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4955\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/27\/the-joy-of-getting-lost\/night-photograph-2183637_1280\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1280,853\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;ILCE-6300&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;30&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;3200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;10&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"night-photograph-2183637_1280\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280.jpg\" src=\"http:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4955\" width=\"583\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/night-photograph-2183637_1280-200x133.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 583px) 100vw, 583px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ve been reading my posts for any length of time, you\u2019ll know I\u2019m a card-carrying <strong>plotter<\/strong>. I don\u2019t use them all the time, and vary my process with each story, but I\u2019ve got a stack of <strong>worksheets <\/strong>for every occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m halfway through the <strong>flash fiction class<\/strong> and finding I just don\u2019t have time to fill out a worksheet for each story. With <strong>deadlines every other day<\/strong>, all I can manage is to fill out those main signposts <strong>(hook, characters, conflict, climax, resolution)<\/strong> &#8211; just enough to give me a <strong>basic road map<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The cool thing is this class has helped me<strong> loosen the reins<\/strong> a bit. Sure, plotting out an entire story or book can save you time from wandering off on <strong>tangents<\/strong> that have nothing to do with your plot in any way, shape or form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for flash fiction, giving myself that extra room to explore has actually been really <strong>freeing<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the last story I had to turn in, I didn\u2019t know how I wanted it to end. Instead of sitting there stuck,<strong> wasting time, stressing<\/strong> myself out, I just went with what I\u2019d plotted so far. The clock was ticking, I had to get my story in, so I wrote. I <strong>let the story unfold<\/strong>, tweaking things along the way. And as I did, <strong>the ending came to me<\/strong>. Or should I say my characters lived out their story and gave me the ending that worked best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I know, this probably seems like old news to those of you who are <strong>more pantser<\/strong> than plotter, who start out every story with just a basic idea and let the story unfold as it may. But this is <strong>a revelation<\/strong> to me, and a perfect way to approach flash fiction, at least for me.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is <strong>good news<\/strong>! This is what I wanted, going into this course. To learn something new. To hone my skills and <strong>uncover new ones<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes an<strong> uncharted course<\/strong> (or at least one with just &nbsp;a flashlight to guide the way) can take you <strong>exactly where you need to go<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes an uncharted course (or at least one with just  a flashlight to guide the way) can take you exactly where you need to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":4955,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"The Joy Of Getting Lost: Sometimes an uncharted course (or at least one with just  a flashlight to guide the way) can take you exactly where you need to go.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[466,104],"class_list":["post-4954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-writing","tag-classes","tag-flash-fiction"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.8.1 - 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It was a grueling two weeks. Reading and lectures and then a short story due the next day. Then wash, rinse and repeat again.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;On Writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"On Writing","link":"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/category\/on-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/paper-623167_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/paper-623167_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/paper-623167_1920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/paper-623167_1920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/paper-623167_1920.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/paper-623167_1920.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4950,"url":"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/2019\/07\/22\/no-time-to-waffle\/","url_meta":{"origin":4954,"position":1},"title":"No Time To Waffle","author":"Mary","date":"July 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"So, I mentioned I started taking Keep It Brief at LitReactor last week. It\u2019s a flash fiction class with Richard Thomas, whose Advanced Creative Writing Workshop and Short Story Mechanics I\u2019ve also taken and loved. Let me tell you - if you want a real intense challenge, take this class.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;On Writing&quot;","block_context":{"text":"On Writing","link":"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/category\/on-writing\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/laptop-1478822_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/laptop-1478822_1920.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/laptop-1478822_1920.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/laptop-1478822_1920.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/laptop-1478822_1920.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/wp-content\/images\/postphotos\/laptop-1478822_1920.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4780,"url":"https:\/\/maryrajotte.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/09\/clean-slate\/","url_meta":{"origin":4954,"position":2},"title":"Clean Slate","author":"Mary","date":"January 9, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It has taken me two weeks to settle into a new routine. I spent A LOT of time - too much, probably - thinking, strategizing, planning, scheduling, rescheduling - and I think I have my projects set for 2019. Most of last year was spent revising my book. 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