WOW, it’s been more than a month since I had a blog here! We were so busy pimping Maggie all over the place last month (Do you have Mistress by Mistake yet??) that I haven’t updated my stress-stress-save-me-from-all-the-stress post of mid-March.
So, for the record...I’m writing again. I found myself stymied with a serious lack of wordage (and motivation) for a long while in the first quarter of this year. (My God, is that how much time has already flown by in 2010?) But now that I’ve laid a few things to rest and the personal life has also settled down, I discovered that there was this pretty kick-ass heroine trudging through the snowy forest of my new WIP, with a devastating, mysterious hero close on her trail.
I love this feeling when I start to understand a new set of characters, when it seems as if I’m thinking about them constantly, and little revelations about their character come to me at the oddest times of the day—like when I’m driving home from work in a rain storm and I have to pull over at the side of the road to write something down, or when I’m at a friend’s house and I’m frantically searching her kitchen for a scrap of paper to write on (because, as usual, I’ve forgotten my journal) but all she’s got is a roll of parchment paper for baking cookies, or when I’m just about ready to finally go to sleep at 1:00 am, but a sudden burst of inspiration hits and I find myself still clacking away when it’s almost time to get up and get ready for work.
I love the feeling of figuring out bits of the plot, coming up with bigger and badder points of conflict, and then an innovative way of making it all work.
I love fleshing out a really emotional scene, filled with heartbreak and tears, or a scene of strife and snappy back-and-forth dialogue, and then being able to write a sexy scene that has the characters aching for each other.
It’s about the process. This is why I do this. I just had to find that energy within myself again.
What part of the process do you enjoy the most? What is it that keeps you writing when it’s not fun anymore? When it’s hard and frustrating and everyone else is enjoying drinks at their friend’s BBQ party?
So, for the record...I’m writing again. I found myself stymied with a serious lack of wordage (and motivation) for a long while in the first quarter of this year. (My God, is that how much time has already flown by in 2010?) But now that I’ve laid a few things to rest and the personal life has also settled down, I discovered that there was this pretty kick-ass heroine trudging through the snowy forest of my new WIP, with a devastating, mysterious hero close on her trail.
I love this feeling when I start to understand a new set of characters, when it seems as if I’m thinking about them constantly, and little revelations about their character come to me at the oddest times of the day—like when I’m driving home from work in a rain storm and I have to pull over at the side of the road to write something down, or when I’m at a friend’s house and I’m frantically searching her kitchen for a scrap of paper to write on (because, as usual, I’ve forgotten my journal) but all she’s got is a roll of parchment paper for baking cookies, or when I’m just about ready to finally go to sleep at 1:00 am, but a sudden burst of inspiration hits and I find myself still clacking away when it’s almost time to get up and get ready for work.
I love the feeling of figuring out bits of the plot, coming up with bigger and badder points of conflict, and then an innovative way of making it all work.
I love fleshing out a really emotional scene, filled with heartbreak and tears, or a scene of strife and snappy back-and-forth dialogue, and then being able to write a sexy scene that has the characters aching for each other.
It’s about the process. This is why I do this. I just had to find that energy within myself again.
What part of the process do you enjoy the most? What is it that keeps you writing when it’s not fun anymore? When it’s hard and frustrating and everyone else is enjoying drinks at their friend’s BBQ party?
13 comments:
I love beginnings, when things are new and shiny and my characters are revealing themselves in surprising ways to me. Right now, though, I'm so close to the end of a novella and so far no one's told me how it's going to finish up. :)But maybe that's for the ebst, because my writing time is a little limited at the moment. Things always work out for the best, I think, even if it's not readily apparent.
ebst? That would be best. Guess my mind is on ebook free downloads, LOL. Last day!
JK, so glad you've got the energy back.
The part of the process I like best? I like the way the characters evolve. By the 2/3 or 3/4 mark, I feel like they're doing all the work. That ability to create something that takes over is my favorite part.
Maggie, I love beginnings too...but unfortunately, that rush quickly fades as I realize that I still have about 80000 words to write and no idea where I’m going, lol. Still, one I figure out a few of the plot details, it doesn’t seem so daunting, especially if I only look at what I have to write from a day-to-day basis point of view. Recently, I’ve been telling myself as long as I get 1000 words per day (with work and mommy duties, it’s about as much as I can comfortably challenge myself with) then I’m happy. And before you know it, in a week I’ve done another 6 or 7 k (less if I don’t get my writing in on weekends, which is pretty typical).
You’re absolutely right, Marn. The character evolution is so amazing. It’s funny how my hero and heroine started out as just a little glimmer of attitude and have morphed into full-blown pains in my ass :)
I love the end the best. Oh god, I so love the end. It means I'm done with the book.
The beginning is my least fave simply because I know what is ahead---all the sweat, tears, and fighting.
I'm a beginning lover. First 30K are a breeze... the rest... well, not so breezy! LOL
Congrats on coming out of the snowy woods, JK! Is this the story you'd like to pitch if you can make it to Nationals?
I've finally gotten far enough in a book to participate in this conversation. LOL! The beginning was fun, but it took me a while to nail down the tone of the story and really get to know my characters. At about the 1/3 mark, I felt pretty comfortable. 2/3 down now and I'm cruising along.
I was worried about the middle. Didn't know if I'd get bogged down. But thanks to my life-saver storyboard, it's all been pretty smooth. About 30K or so to go to get to THE END and I'm so looking forward to FINALLY being able to say I finished something. :)
Maggie - Got my copy of MBM from Amazon yesterday! Can't wait to dive in. (And can't wait for your pirate visit tomorrow.)
Ely, the end is awesome, but I'm also a bit sad when I get there because I've become invested in the characters and it seems they've been so much a part of me for so long it's hard to let them go.
Tiff, I knew you were going to say beginning, lol :)
Terri, congratulations!! This is so awesome? Are you going to pitch it at Nationals? Are you going?
I'm still hoping to go, and yes, I should be finished this book by then (*crossing fingers*)
Definitely going to Nationals. Can't. Wait. Never been to Disney. My inner child is doing a happy dance like you wouldn't believe.
Also definitely pitching. Hoping to pitch this book to as many as I can and then I plan to pitch the Erotic Romance short (that you helped with!) to a couple epubs. That story has been sitting for more than two years. Time to dust it off and do something with it.
Woot, Terri!
And I just talked hubby into Disney World!! YAY, we might even be flying there!
Yay! Four people who were going have said now they can't. I was getting bummed. Now in the last hour I've found out two more are going who weren't before. My spirits are returning. LOL!
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