I've been trying to work. Really, I have.
I open the file for Early Grave and I go to where I last stopped reading. (I'm reading the 130 pages I already have written so I can get a sense of where to pick up the writing again.) I read through for a while until my brain hurts from all the flaws (it's very first drafty) and then I wander off. I'm on pg70 now, but I started doing this like two weeks ago, so you see how that's going.
About a week ago, I sent Natural Causes to my Kindle so I could start editing that. And there my Kindle sat on the table where it charges. Yesterday, I took my Kindle and a notebook into the living room to maybe prod me into getting my ass to work. Cuz, like, it's taking up half my end table and I have to keep moving it to access the Kleenex. Nope.
At the beginning of the month, I read through what I have written on Wish Hits the Fan, got to the end of that, and realized I have no idea where I'm supposed to go next. I think about it when I'm driving, and sometimes when I'm trying to sleep, but I still can't see my way through.
Sometime in mid-Autumn, I thought it might be a good idea to work on rewriting Fear Itself. I'm 66 pgs in on that. But I haven't been able to muster the urge to sit my ass down and work through this.
So, I began pondering the idea of going back to something completely different. I have that modern day Arthurian thing I was working on. I was really excited about that. Or Sleeping Ugly. That was a lot of fun. But I can't get excited about those either. Nothing's blowing my skirt up*.
Not sure what the answer is here. Not sure what the problem is either, so that's probably why I can't find the answer. I don't feel burned out. Maybe it's a combination of things that I won't bring up here because who needs to listen to me piss and moan. (As if this whole post isn't akin to a PAM session.)
Anyhoo... I hope this explains a little why I haven't published anything since September and I don't have anything on a publication schedule and why you haven't seen a newsletter in forever. I'm stalled. I'd like to be writing. I'd love to have something to offer you that isn't a half-formed blob of primordial goo. But I don't.
Maybe 2017 will bring me some gumption. But like I said in my Sunday Update, wishing for 2017 to be better only works if you're willing to do something to make it better. When I figure out what that something is, I'll let you know.
* My great-grandmother was fond of saying 'Whatever blows your skirt up' instead of 'whatever floats your boat.'
I like your great-grandmother. Just sayin'...
ReplyDeleteI understand your frustration. I'd be under the covers reading other people's words but for contracted deadlines. You'll work your way out of this slump eventually. Your fans will be patiently waiting when you're ready. *nods*
Until then, sit back, relax. Do what makes you happy. At some point, the ideas will come. Here's to a new year!
"Nothing's blowing my skirt up" always reminds me of Marilyn Monroe - and I never did watch that movie.
ReplyDeleteI'm a little stalled, but getting closer to chugging up the hill. Tonight I'm reading a novel I published six years ago because it happens a year after 6C, and mentions stuff that happened in the last version of 6C. I need to remember what trouble Lorel got into, the culture of the island, etc. It's helping me flesh out the outline. :-)
And I still enjoy Necromancer's Anchor, even though my fingers twitch to edit it a little. ;-)
This may not help at all, but *for me*, that would be a lot of rereading of stuff that I've already written. I try hard not to reread a first draft until I'm done because it tends to put me in left-brain, editing mode. I know that's tough, though, when you're not sure where you've left off.
ReplyDeleteOnce when I was stuck, I worked backwards from the end of the book to the point where I left off. It was challenging enough to keep my brain engaged and meant that I did make some mini-outlines to keep everything in order, backwards.
Another time I thought of the rest of the story as scenes (the second body is found, a key suspect is questioned, the sleuth has a moment of danger, a suspect gives a false alibi and points to another suspect) and then wrote scenes out of order (whatever appealed to me to write...whatever mood I was in).
You'll get through the slump soon,I'm sure. Good luck!