Spring Procrastination March 24, 2009

I’ve heard a couple other writers bemoaning the bad case of procrastination/writers’ block that has hit them in the past couple weeks; I wonder if it’s something about the time of year.

My WIP is a bit stuck again. My MC is turning into a snot, and I don’t like it. So I’m glaring at the page wondering how to fix this problem, and yet she just glares stubbornly back. Sigh. When I get “stuck” like this, it is so vital that I still write something. Sometimes it’s just a journal entry or a blog post, but my writing usually benefits more from prompts and exercises. I have this book that I sometimes use. Jess recently inspired me with a prompt she put up, but I still haven’t actually written my idea out. Maybe I’ll do that today, since I don’t really have time to glower at my MC much longer.

What do you do when your character tries to take off without you?

Spring Fever March 21, 2009

I didn’t mean to take a two-week break, but that’s life for ya. I did a little writing in that time, but not much. I kind of got out of my groove when our company came (which was very fun, just not really good for my muse) and am just now starting to get back into it. However, I’m not sure how long that will last, since I volunteered for extra hours at work this week. Since I actually HAVE a job now I’ve been getting back into gear with school (I’m at 80-some credits now, yay), so extra money is very good and very needed, it’s just the hours cut into my study/writing/other stuff time, not to mention my time with my man. It’s only a week though, so I guess I’ll survive.

With spring coming on, I’ve been hit with an organizing bug. This includes finished multiple sewing projects that have been languishing in my closet for months (in one case, years). So I guess that’s interfering with my writing as well, but they really did need to be finished.

I’ve begun to wonder if I try to read too many writing blogs. There’s 39 unread entries sitting in my Google Reader right now. Granted, this only happens when I skip about 4 days of reading, but still. I dunno.

Reading update:

The Darkest Evening of the Year is taking me forever to read because it’s so creepy. I can only read about two chapters before I have to put it down so I’m not totally freaked out.

Passionate Housewives I’m still reading, taking it slow for various reasons.

Hancock Park was  returned to the library when I discovered the protaganist was lesbian. Sorry, I’d just rather not spend my free time reading that, even if it was otherwise well written.

Dog Man is still in my to be read pile.

B is for Burglar was pretty good for a modern mystery. I didn’t realize the alphabet series was a chronological story, so I sent “O” back and read C is for Corpse instead. Fast reads, I guess 3 stars overall. Nothing spectacular, but I’ll probably finish the series when I’m wanting a light read.

The Glimmer Train Guide to Fiction is still in my pile as well, and I’ve barely touched it since my last post about it. Maybe I jinxed it. Actually, I have a bad habit of doing more reading about writing than actual writing, so I purposely left it alone for awhile. I’ll be reading more in it over the next few days, I hope.

Hmm. Haven’t been doing much reading, have I?

Miscellany March 4, 2009

I now have more than 18,000 words on my WIP. I know this is not a lot, especially to certain people who complete NaNo four times over during the course of November, or even just once, but for me it’s rather major. My goal with this WIP is just to finish. I’m not aiming for publication, just to assure myself that I can indeed finish a novel length project. So I’m excited.

The fact that I feel somewhat possessed by it at present also excites me. I haven’t felt like this about a story since I was about 14. It’s driving me to the keyboard, even though I have other things I know I could/should be doing (cleaning the bathroom, finishing my quilt, putting away the clean dishes, etc). I guess I could say my muse is back, perhaps in the form of the very happy golden retriever with his head perpetually on the arm of my chair or in my lap.

Posting may be sparce over the next few days, as we’ll be having some company. I expect my muse will be demanding any of my extra time, but I’ll be back soon.