Hours to Write a Paragraph

I am working on my next devotional book, Watering Flowers in the Rain.  I am approximately 30 pages in.  Below is a paragraph I have revised  about 5 times this week.  After the paragraph, I explain why it sometimes takes me hours to write a few sentences.

 

Excerpt from Watering Flowers in the Rain:

It was the first time I had ever been frisked.   My husband was next.  Neither of us said anything.  Then about fifty of us were jammed into a small area where guards, holding semi-automatic weapons, stood above us on a balcony. I would call the area a room, but it didn’t have a ceiling.   At first, there were three walls, battleship gray.  Then the fourth wall, a steel door, came thundering down, “SHUMP!”  I really didn’t need that.  I was already nervous.

 

 Why does it sometimes take me days to write a paragraph?

1.  This particular paragraph is non-fiction, so it took me awhile to retrieve the details.  For me,  recollection is  the most difficult part of writing because it can be emotionally exhausting.   At first I do more thinking than writing, and I also do more thanking, thanking God I have moved away from a place I now only have to revisit for the purpose of writing.

2.  I read my paragraphs aloud several times.  Each time, I listen for the sound.  Writers are like musicians in that sense.  They have to have a good ear.  The rhythm and flow of the words have to be right.  That goes for poetry and prose.

3.  Lately I have been writing more non-fiction, so I have to make sure I am telling the truth about my thoughts and feelings and the thoughts and feelings of other people who are involved.  This sometimes takes a little research.  I have to make sure I am completely honest with my readers.  I cannot bend the truth to make the paragraph work.   I have to figure out an interesting way to convey the truth.  The truth has to work alone.

4.  I have to check my grammar.  This is often very tedious for me.  Sometimes  I don’t want to word a sentence correctly because it messes up my flow.  However, I have to remember that, unless it is dialogue, incorrect grammar is an eye sore to skilled readers.

5.  I need a break from the paragraph.  Sometimes the break is 24-hours.  If I sit hours on end, revising the same paragraph, my eyes get weak and my mind scatters.  If I take a long walk, dance, or even fold clothes, I focus better when I go back to the paragraph.  Breaks build up my mental stamina.

6.  I repeat the first five steps.

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