Peggy Arthur

By Peggy Arthur

Greetings!

This week I reached another milestone in my writing journey. I submitted my beat sheet to my editor. It was the very first exercise she recommended in her editorial letter, and completing it required far more energy than I expected.

Plotting an entire story from beginning to end is not simply an intellectual exercise. For me, it became physical, emotional, and deeply reflective work.

Creation in Motion

One of the biggest discoveries during this process was realizing that ideas rarely come to me when I’m sitting still at my desk. Instead, creativity tends to arrive when I’m moving.

A scene might appear while I’m walking outside, climbing the stair machine at the gym, or even relaxing in a hot bath. Movement seems to unlock something in the mind. When the body shifts, the imagination follows.

Interestingly, many well-known writers have described similar creative rhythms. For example, Charles Dickens was famous for taking extremely long walks, sometimes up to twenty miles a day, while thinking through his stories. Virginia Woolf often used walking as part of her creative practice, allowing her mind to wander before returning to the page. And Agatha Christie reportedly developed some of her best plot ideas while soaking in the bathtub and eating apples.

This experience reminded me that creativity does not always happen at a desk. Sometimes the mind needs the body to move in order for the story to move.

Protecting the Instrument

Completing the beat sheet also taught me something else: creating takes energy—real energy.

There were moments when I had to step away and rest before returning to the work. The process required emotional bandwidth, patience, and recovery time between sessions.

That realization helped me see something clearly: as a writer, I am my own instrument. The story moves through me, which means I have to take care of the instrument itself.

Rest, reflection, and space are not luxuries in the creative process; they are part of the work.

Discovering the Right Structure

Another major breakthrough came through story structure.

Originally, I attempted to shape my novel using the heroine’s journey framework developed by Maureen Murdock. Her model explores a woman’s psychological and spiritual path, particularly the healing of the feminine after navigating a world often shaped by masculine expectations. It is deeply introspective and focuses on identity, healing, and integration.

However, my editor introduced me to another structural approach developed by Victoria Lynn Schmidt, whose framework adapts the heroine’s journey into a clearer narrative structure for fiction. Her approach focuses more directly on plot movement, character trials, transformation, and the heroine’s ultimate empowerment.

While both frameworks explore the evolution of a female protagonist, they approach the journey from slightly different directions:

Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey

• Rooted in psychology and mythology
• Focuses on healing the feminine and integrating identity
• More reflective and internal

Victoria Lynn Schmidt’s Heroine’s Journey

• Designed specifically for storytelling and narrative structure
• Focuses on trials, transformation, and empowerment
• More plot-driven and externally structured

For my novel, this shift helped bring the story into clearer focus.

Now that the beat sheet has been rewritten, the real rewrite journey begins. The Pretender’s Game is being shaped and reshaped into an even stronger story.

And like the heroine herself, the creative journey continues, one step, one scene, and one discovery at a time.

Join the Journey

If you enjoy reflections on writing, storytelling, and the creative process, I invite you to stay connected.

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