After today's plot consultation, plotlines and subplots, flashbacks and time jumps still linger.
The writer is guilty what many of us are ~ he tried too hard.
At some point in every writers life, we ask ourselves ~ who would want to read this? And, why? In our fear of not measuing up or worried the story falls short, we add another subplot here, switch events around, change the point-of-view, and mess with the format.
I think this is part of the writer's personal journey. Our egos keep our minds so filled with fear and uncertainty we trip over the story itself. Yes, the writer's craft is to take what flows out on the page and craft it into a story. So long as we focus on the story, I think we get it right. It's when the writer gets in the way that the process weighed down. Tricks and too many twists can pull the story under.
I hope when the writer sees his very own individual Plot Planner I created for him during the consultation and finessed with plot tips after, I hope he'll reconnect with the core or heart of the story itself. When we try too hard, we tense up. The story tenses up, too. To trim and snip and cut isn't always easy. I hope when he sees his story minus the words, he'll see the story is worth the time and attention it is going to take to get it right.