Flushing out the Questions

Bouncing like rubber balls around in the hollow spaces of any writer's brain are thoughts about their craft, doubts, and questions. And I know a lot of times we try to ignore them, afraid if we acknowledge one, the rest will pour out like a deluge and extinguish our passion for what we do.

But my thought for today is, how bad can it really be to acknowledge them? Wouldn't it feel better to get those bouncy balls out of your thoughts so you can think more clearly? Here's my go at it...

Is it worth it in the end?
Will getting published make me feel like I've finally fulfilled my writing dream?
How do I know if I have that edge to my story that makes it stand out?
Will people really like what I write?
Does anyone even read anymore?
What's the best format to pursue? Online ebooks or traditional?
Should I even bother looking for an agent or just go straight to e-pubbing?
Does my novel have enough oomph?
Are my characters flat and uninteresting?
Is my story all plot and no characterization?
Am I too much in love with what I write to see its flaws?

As writers, I think we re-evaluate our craft, our ideas, and ourselves every time we sit down to write. Perhaps that's why a blank page is so intimidating to some.

Now with all those questions out, I can focus on the reason I started writing in the first place: Because I love it passionately. With that view firmly in mind with no bouncy balls to knock it out of its place, I can write clear and focused.

I'm going to write a list of questions like this every time I sit down to write, just to flush them out of my thoughts and allow myself to get focused.

April is Poetry Month!

It kind of snuck up on me.
The last two years I've been gun-ho excited to participate but for some reason this year I didn't even realize it was poetry month until a few days in!

Because my head is very much into fiction at the moment, I'm finding it hard to think about poetry as well. For sure, I will still be writing poetry. I want to at least attempt to write one poem per day. (I need to catch up!) But I won't be posting them here. I figured since my head isn't in the game, I'd spare everyone from having to read my less than stellar poetry.

But by all means, head over to Robert Brewer's Poetic Asides blog to check out his poetry prompts for each day, to read hundreds of poems his readers have posted, and to participate yourself.

Have fun!

The War Continues

Every time I sit down to write now, I end up splitting my time between my two novels. It usually goes like this:

Sit down, drink tea, open project 1.

Smile at my darling novel, begin writing.

Get frustrated, close project 1, realize my dreams of being a writer are unrealistic.

Drink tea, open project 2.

Smile at the novel that's better than the other one, begin writing.

Get frustrated, drink tea, pet cat, get hugs from hubby, sit down, open project 1.

You see my dilemma? Oh, you don't see it? It's right there in between the fact that I'm managing to write something every day.

The truth is, I kind of like this. Even though I feel like I'm not getting anywhere, I am writing. And I'm writing even in the midst of getting frustrated at a project.

This is just more evidence that writer's block doesn't have to exist. All you need are several other writing projects to go to when you get stuck on one. That way, you'll always be writing no matter what.

Hang in there if you're frustrated or impatient for your novel to get done. And maybe go drink some tea.

Compulsive Beginnings

It turns out Unsubscribe day is more like unsubscribe week. Some places take ten days to unsubscribe you from their system. I don't like it, but I guess that's the way it is. Hopefully by next week I will have a much slimmer Inbox.

Which is important because I just started my new job and every week I get about 40 e-mails from my fellow co-workers. :D I love it. It makes me feel like I'm needed.

With the start of my new job, I haven't done anything with my WIP for three weeks. Which felt strange because that's the longest I've ever gone without working on it since I started almost two years ago.

But for the past three weeks, I was writing. I didn't have a chunk of time I needed to devote to my WIP to get past a major barrier, so instead I started a different novel, one that I could add to in bits and pieces a few minutes at a time.

Now I have a pleasant conundrum. I'm still in love with my WIP, but am really excited about my newest novel. Which do I work on?

It reminds me of when I used to play Civilizations and Age of Empires. They fascinated me and were a ton of fun, but I found myself addicted to fresh, new beginnings. It was rare I ever finished a game because every time I'd sit down, I would want to start something new. A blank slate with no mistakes on it with all the possibilities of becoming a successful game.

My WIP is almost done (done? Is there such a thing?) so I'll probably stick with it until I reach that next satisfactory step. But I have no doubt I'll continue to grow my newest story here and there, squeezing it in around my schedule.

Have you ever had more than one significant story going at the same time? How many? Are you a compulsive starter of stories? Or does a blank page scare you?

Unsubscribe Day

Today I designate as Unsubscribe day.

It may take only a few seconds to delete that annoying newsletter you signed up for because they gave you a free pizza.
You might think you'll order something from that e-zine in the future when you have more time for hobbies.

But those few seconds add up. Especially if you managed to get a free pizza, free pen, 10% off at a dozen places and a few free books for signing up, like me. This morning I had 60 e-mails in my inbox that were not personal or work related. And I just checked it yesterday. (Note that this is the e-mail address I keep for such purposes. Anything that sounds risky or spammy, I use my alternate e-mail.)

I'm of the opinion that it's ok to sign up for free e-zines and stuff, especially if there's a promotion for doing so (i.e. free stuff). But today, I'm unsubscribing from all the regular e-mails I never read. That includes things like my subscription to the Origami e-zine. Sure, I'll probably order more Origami paper from them in the future, but when I do, I won't need their e-zine to do it. And no amount of sales or special offers from them will make me place an order until I have the time to actually fold Origami.

So here's to more time for writing. More time for living. More brain space for the e-mails that actually matter.

Happy Unsubscribe Day!

Writing on hold

Sorry, guys. I've been putting all my writing on hold until I finish training in at my new job. It's bee a busy couple of weeks, but I hope that once things settle down at work I'll get right back into the blogosphere/write-o-sphere.

Hope you all are having a good time!

This Week

Started a new job this week, so I'll be busy as a bee learning new things. Real blog posts to resume next week. ;)