by Sarah | Sep 7, 2010 | Changing Tracks, General, Train To Nowhere, Writing
I like to blame it on Mercury being in retrograde. Messing up my writer’s brain and functions.
It sounds so much better than “in a funk” or “writer’s block”.
Either way, that’s where I’ve been. The only thing that has been written are the 100-words pieces.
A few weeks ago I got a rejection from a mid-size pub that was helpful. It had plenty of notes, and it really got me even more wedged into my ‘stuck’ place. Once that came, not a word was written for the third book in the series (which I’m only 1/3 done with).
The past few days I’ve begun to find a bit of hope underneath all the negative ‘blah’ energy.
I’ve been playing with some alterations for Train to Nowhere and have been working on a mock-up cover (which I always love to do). The characters are changing just a little, and every time they do it excites me even more.
I took Changing Tracks back out of it’s nap. Started a new file and edited the first few chapters according to the notes I received. I’ve set a tentative schedule of 2-3 chapters a day of actual focused editing. I’m changing the font and trying to catch what I missed. There are some things I won’t get after all the edits I’ve done – but I’m hoping to make it just a little tighter and nicer. The good thing is that the first 3 chapters now sound much more like the rest of the books, I didn’t have to change much so the difference was not as tremendous as I thought.
On Thursday I’m pleased to say that I’ll be posting an interview with Sandra Worth. I’ve been privileged enough to get a chance to review the last two novels she’s had published. With a new novel coming out in February 2011, she was kind enough to agree to an interview now – and a review at the release! So keep an eye out for that Thursday.
Either Friday or Saturday I hope to post the net 100 words – but as the word this week is ‘Rotten’, I’m not sure if the muse will grant me such cooperation.
On a side note – my L key keeps skipping. That’s way too many typos for my liking. I need to fix it fast.
by Sarah | Aug 12, 2010 | General, Train To Nowhere, Writing
We all know what it’s like.
You have an inkling of an idea. Just the slightest hint of what something might become, what it could be come. We’re at point A, but point B is FAR away. The road to it is winding and crazy and we’re not sure how to get there.
We get mired down in details. Questions. Plots. Characters. Devices.
The How’s, What’s, Where’s, When’s, Why’s and Who’s.
We get stuck.
I had a story idea. A small little niggle. It had developed into two characters. I had the basics of who they were. Their names, their brief back story. Then I got stuck. Where was I going with it? How would it develop? I knew a basic conflict, but in the end it didn’t seem enough. I needed more.
I set it aside. I worked on other things totally un-writing related. I even left my Jane Doe series to linger on the vine (I have out queries/contest submissions, book 3 is started, moving slowly, I’m not in a huge rush). I pulled out knitting to distract me. Watched TV to distract me.
Then for some reason I kept getting stuck on the location. I knew what state I wanted it in. The approximate year. For some reason my muse wanted me to find out WHERE. I didn’t understand why I was stuck on this detail, but I was.
Then it happened.
By researching the WHERE, by studying the state I planned to set this in. By learning the history of the land I’d chosen the story formed before my eyes.
The light bulb clicked on and now my story was forming.
Train to Nowhere was getting somewhere.
So now I officially have my new story idea. I’ve been fleshing out some details, working on some characters. I’m letting it continue to stew a little. I am eager to write this story – but I also want to finish my Jane Doe series, because it feels wrong to leave it ‘unfinished’ (Yes, I have a first draft complete, but it’s a very weak outline that I want to make sure is properly plumped and finished).
So, I continue on. I also have a couple of other little ideas starting to form, but nothing solid yet.
In the mean time – my husband is writing now too. I have to say I’m jealous – so far I love what I’ve read from him.
Off to ponder the word of the week for 100 words. Hoping I can get something good for it. It’s a powerful word.
I like to blame it on Mercury being in retrograde. Messing up my writer’s brain and functions.