commitment
So I love my WIP, I’ve written 150 some-odd pages in less than a month. And then my husband (who I love dearly, most of the time) gives me an idea, and BOOM. There is my hero, standing there in all his Sawyer-ish glory. Oh, he’ll be damaged and untrustworthy, and something in his past has pushed him into the backwoods here, and he’s doing this extremely risky and kind of trashy job, and…..
You see? You see how easy it is? For me, the beginnings of stories are so much fun, so adventurous, so full of possibilities. The book I’m working on now, I started about a year ago. I had the idea, it wouldn’t let me go, so I stopped, wrote the first 13 pages, got it out of my system and went back to my WIP. Good for me, right? Because if I have 100 first chapters, I’m never gonna sell. I have to finish the book, revise the book, revise the book, revise the book, revise…well, that’s how it feels, anyway. And then, once it’s gone, I can start the next book, fall in love with THAT story. I have to commit to the story I’m working on, or it will never see the light of day.
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- I'm a mom, a wife, a teacher and a writer. I have five cats and a dog to keep me company. I love bookstores and libraries and Netflix - movies are my greatest weakness.
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12 comments:
Hugs on the Rs! That SO sucks, and can SO suck the enthusiasm right out of you. But it's so cool that you are pushing through it and loving your new WIP! You are braver than I am! *g*
I LOVE Sawyer. Love, love, love that bad boy.
I had to do the same thing, btw. When I first started writing, I kept jumping from one book to the other, doing a little on each then moving on to the next project. I finally had to force myself to finish one at a time, then move on. I'm so glad I did, and you will be, too!
Thanks, Larissa. I don't know if I'm so much brave as stubborn. I was checking out the Cerridwen website today....
Gena, isn't he just so intriguing? And can't you just see him in a ratty plaid shirt and jeans, in a battered cowboy hat and truck, living out in Tornado Alley? ohhhhh.....
I used to jump from one WIP to another so I had to contain myself. But I love to start a new book much more than to continue the existing WIP!
I've found that the best way to kill off those distracting extra stories is to try and write a synopsis. LOL. That'll kill any idea! But if it doesn't, then I have a synopsis ready and that's always the hardest part for me. :)
There's a reason Sawyer is such a great character }:)
I have to echo Gena's comments on the writing :)
Thanks for linking to my blog. I would return the favor but I have no idea how to add a link. I am still learning about blogs. I will make a post about your blog though.
Good luck with your novel.
Sara
Olga, I know, starting a new book is soooo much easier than working out problems in a current book. And there's always the feeling that this book will be easier, or that you'll get it right this time, you know?
Michelle, LOL on using synopses to kill stories - I think you should make a t-shirt.
Thanks, Sara and Bonnie. Sara, Blogger won't let me paste the code here for linking. Here's the Blogger directions: http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=110&topic=22
I just can't get started on my new book, period. I had a great first scene, and then it just died. I have no idea where it could or should or can go. I loved the book that is sitting on Denise's desk at HI right now...it came into my head in full bloom, from start to finish. All I had to do was write it. I can't get anything going like that in my head again, or so it seems. I actually miss the heroine of that book, I wish I could work with her again! Sounds weird, right? I am starting to have the scary thought that I had only 4 books in me...the four I've written. Color me nervous.
Mar, Cerridwen Press looks like a good ebook avenue. Right now they are stuffed to the gills with submissions, or so the rumor goes. But that will clear eventually.
JoAnn
PS---Mar, I just love your blog. It's the next best thing to a cup of coffee and the back fence. It's been great getting to know all your other friends! :)
JoAnn, I think you need some time off, or need to do something completely different than Selene right now. I've had that same fear, and you know when it was? After I revised 3 books in something like 2 months for submission. I was just burned out. You had an incredible output at the end of that book. You just need the well to fill. Although, if you write some of MY ideas, they won't be driving me nuts anymore!
Glad you like my blog!
I love to come to your blog every day, Mar...it really is my morning pick-me-up.
Gerard...I am seeing him as a little older, a bit of silver at the temples, and a great foil for the heroine who just showed up in the midst of my flu-like-symptoms imaginings this evening (I think I have run myself down, to say the least.). Her name is Julia, she's 45, and she has a lot to say. So I'm going to sit down and let her say it and see what happens. Better than worrying that my career dried up before I even had one! :)
You're right, Mar...so I am taking your advice.
JoAnn
Just make sure you remember I saw him first, JoAnn ;P
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