I have to admit, I haven't been on top of my game the last few weeks. My unedited manuscript from NaNoWriMo keeps staring back at me. I told myself I would edit Shadow Bound again, but I'm way too close to it still.
With Shadow Bound, I feel like the story is set in stone. Like I can edit the scenes, but not change them completely. I think that's my problem. Scene X is boring not because the dialogue isn't quite right, but because nothing happens! It needs to be done away with completely, but it's so hard to see things like that after editing so many times.
And then there's Song of the Muse. I'm scared to even look at it. It's shameful, really. I think that because it's a NaNo novel, I tell myself it's awful and needs a complete overhaul. But it's not that bad. It really isn't.
I know a lot of writers deal with this kind of slump and I've always felt guilty because writing on a daily basis came so naturally to me. But now it's catching up to me. I got maybe four or five chapters into Shadow Bound and then pthtt! And my Muse is being fed (and not driving me to write) because I've been reading such wonderful books during the Christmas break.
**sigh**
I've also been preoccupied with some major family/life changes including our new puppy, who needs constant attention and training. Then there's the holidays, being sick, and focusing on my health. It's really just a lot of excuses, I know. These are things I just need to push through. Every writer has setbacks. And every successful writer overcomes them.
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4 comments:
You speak for many of us...writing/family/rewriting. Your post is telling me that I am not alone. Happy 2010
I'm slumping as well. Stuck between revising one project and getting back into another. I was hoping to start 2010 better than this.
For Shadow Bound, think of what it can become. Save the draft you have, then take it and be brutal. Hack Scene X! Chop it all up! You know what you need to do, do it with relish!!!
Reading is good, it's fuel, you need it. But the real problem sounds like you're still in writing mode, first draft mode. You need to shift gears to edit and hop to. Do you want a second pair of eyes on Shadow? Give it another good edit, then you can submit while you edit Muse. I recommend getting a friend to read and offer feedback, when I'm stumped on revisions that always helps me.
Patti: It's never too late to buckle down. (I finally started revising.)
Olivia: I think I need to get back to the scene level, rather than word/sentence level. I'm going back to Song of the Muse.
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