I was toiling away at a short story for the longest time—-it was an elusive bastard of a thing that simply refused to cooperate—-but there I was knee-deep in the rising action stage and the words were flowing at a pretty decent clip and some of it was even good if i do say so myself—-
And then I hit the Duh Moment.
It’s that precise instant when a puzzle piece your subconscious has been working on without your knowledge slips into place and your entire universe makes absolute sense. What’s the matter with me? The solution is so simple! How did I not see this before? It was staring me right in the face, plain as day!
One of the single best experiences when writing. That magical moment of crystal clarity. And it lasts for just a moment.
Just like the episode of Star Trek where the Eymorgs steal Spock’s brain and McCoy has to put on the Teacher in order to perform a reverse brain transplant within the three-hour time limit that the implanted knowledge lasts—-phew! that’s a mouthful—-you’re in a race against time to commit as much of that new-found genius to the page as possible before it slips away like a dream upon waking.
You’re also trying to beat the crash.
Coming down off the adrenaline rush when your story came together, your mind will lock onto something and detour on a tangent and you’ll miss a vital piece of information and the structure will topple like a Jenga tower.
In the end, your mind winds up bone weary and you’ll need to step away from the inspiration carnage in order to rebuild your depleted creativity reserve. No worries, though. It’s all part of the process.
As for the aforementioned short story? Still working on it. The first draft is still in the construction phase, but thanks to a bulletted list as long as your arm, I was able to jot down all the important bits.
Is it just me or does this happen to anyone else?
Sally forth and be Duh Momently writeful.
— Rhyan Scorpio-Rhys
RhyScoRhys 
Oh, yes, this happens to anyone else.
I try to savor that moment (and, like you, capture as much of its genius as possible), because with hindsight, its brilliance almost always seems to fade. What looked like a perfect solution turns out to be much trickier than first imagined, and to introduce its own sticky problems. But that’s the writing life. We’ve got to enjoy the process whenever we can.
It is so wonderful when it hits. Usually, it take me several times of mentally reliving the scene until the perfect solution weaves itself into the mind. Yes, the simple is so perfect and yes it is so fleeting. Congratulations on finding the solution!
Reblogged this on Cronin Detzz "Writer's Block" and commented:
Honor your muse – when a story comes together, it is a great feeling! Get writing!