The things that prose can bring

Perhaps I should stop being surprised when I come up with good ideas by simply setting down to rewrite something. It's a process that's guaranteed to force you to think about what's going on in a story. But the fact that writing with no specific intent generates new ideas never ceases to amaze me.

I often set out to generate ideas on a specific topic...and I can usually come up with something I like if I keep after it. There, the trick is to start a list and keep making it longer, and include every stupid idea that comes to mind. But having ideas come during a rewrite feels like manna from heaven when you forgot to say your prayers.

As I write this I'm fresh from a writing session. I'm rewriting a short piece. It's 800 words and getting shorter, so I can do a whole draft in a single writing session (given that my current daily goal is 500 words and given that once I pass 300 I'm typically in a groove where another few hundred words is no problem). Somehow, just rearranging the sentences and paragraphs of this piece that I thought was pretty well baked is giving me lots of wild ideas about the character's situation and motives.