Hmmmm....

Apparently, it takes Power Ballads of the 80s to break my writer's block :-p  I wrote 2 pages the other day, and I enjoyed writing them.  They came quickly and smoothly.

I'm about 15 pages into my story right now, and am now toying with another idea.  I started writing in third person, and am beginning to entertain the idea of switching to first person.  I'm not sure which would work best, but I'm finding it hard to describe some of the scenes in third person and feel like changing the perspective might help. 

I'm just not sure if I want to go back and rewrite the entire 15 pages again in a different view.  It would be almost like writing another story entirely.  I had toyed with the idea of writing it anyway, and keeping both drafts going simultaneously.  But I'm concerned that chipping away at 2 stories at once will tap my muse and my creativity.  I am having such great luck (knock on wood) so far with my writing that I am concerned that by tapping it too much it might dry up again. 

I think that tonight I may try to start at the beginning of a first person version of what I have already written so far and see how that goes.  I may try to wrestle with both versions for the time being, and if I find that one of the other flows better, then perhaps I will switch gears and focus on one more than the other.

We'll see I guess.  Tonight, I'm writing to the tune of Waterworld (I love Kevin Costner! :-p) and then following it up with whatever creative mix my Pandora can come up with :-)

Teaser Alert! :-p

So here's a small excerpt from what I've got so far.  I figured that I could everyone a sneak peek at some of the writing, just to keep your interest :-p  And I think I am going to try to write something completely unrelated to my story to try to get through this writer's block.  So it may be a bit before you get updated on the story, but I'll let post what I come up with in the mean time :-p  It could be interesting.  Anyway, enjoy the teaser!

People stared, quietly, at the woman sitting in silence in the corner.  Everyone they had ever known was there, people she loved and cared for.  Yet no one approached her.  They all let her sit, lost in her own quiet world.  Small pockets of conversation could be heard throughout the room, yet she seemed not to register any of it.  She hadn’t moved in well over an hour, not even to brush away the tears that tracked down her beautiful face.  Her mother and father sat on either side of her, fielding questions and conversation so she wouldn’t have to say anything, and for that, she was grateful. 

She didn’t have the energy to talk to those around her; friends, family, co-workers.  The one person she wanted to talk to was at the front of room, but she couldn’t bring herself to go over.  So she stayed with her parents, eyes blurry and unfocused as she tried remembered what it was like to be happy.  It seemed like a lifetime ago when she was happy.

Someone nudged her elbow, and when she looked up, she saw Lee’s brother, a kind smile on his face.  “Hey kid,” he said, the same sad look in eyes that everyone in the room shared.  “It’s almost time.  You ready?”

She finally looked around, saw the pitying looks on the eyes trained on her face, on the pain etched so clearly on her face.  With a trembling sigh, she pushed to her feet.  “No.”  Together with Rick and her parents, she walked to the front of the room, toward the man she loved.

Block :-(

You know, one would think that I would be used to writer's block by now.  But no.  It's stuck right now and just like every other time, it is driving me crazy!  I've finished a pretty emotional scene, and now I just can't seem to get past it.  My flow is all off and I can't get it back on track.

I'm going to change up my music playlist today and see if that helps.  Hopefully, some Nickelback, Stone Sour, Disturbed, and Marilyn Manson can break through this block in my mind.

It's been a rough couple of days for writing.  I spent about 2 hours writing yesterday, and got about 1 and half good pages out of it.  I really wrote about 4 pages, but wasn't really crazy about half of what I wrote, so I spent a good amount of time deleting and rewriting.  I finally settled on a solid few paragraphs with some good dialogue. 

Yesterday was the first chance that I had had to write since the 16th.  It was nice to sit and write for a while, but it felt forced.  I decided to stop when I found that solid page and a half and walk away for a while.  I'm not sure that I will write today.  I think I will give myself and my muse a day to recuperate.  I'm not on a deadline, so really, I am in no hurry to bust out a bunch of pages. 

I am finding myself getting more and more excited to write every day, which is very nice.  My mind is constantly turning with ideas and scenarios that I can add in later.  I am trying to write them down as they pop into my head, but sometimes I'm not in a convenient place to do it.  It happens when I'm driving, or working, or getting ready to fall asleep.  But at least new ideas and creativity are happening. 

I will be working on a few art projects that I have going today, and possibly going out to mow :-)  It should be a nice relaxing day before the work week begins again tomorrow.

Yay for good days!  2 pages written tonight, and one with great dialogue.  I started writing this in the first person, but changed to the third person about half way through.  I went back and changed the view to the third person throughout the rest of the story, re-read it and really like the way it sounds now. 

I've started getting random snippets of scenes in my head that I would like to add to either this story or....***gasp***....  Possibly a sequal!  I have never thought about writing two books before, and the possibility of writing one has always been daunting, so the fact that I actually have almost a clear outline in my head for this story AND a second story is very exciting for me.

I have a lot of support around me for this project, which is definitely something I have always had before, but for some reason, this feels a little different.  This feels like I can actually do it. 

I'm taking some elements from my life thus far and bring them into this fictional scene and situation that I'm creating, and so far, I am pleased with the way it is turning out, and like the way scenes and thoughts pop into my head all day.  Also something new with this project that I can't remember happening with my other project attempts. 

So all in all, I have good feelings and am getting good vibes from this story.  Here's hoping they keep coming!

Well today wasn't such a good day for writing.  I was only able to throw out a paragraph and a half.  But like yesterday, they were good and solid.  I really feel like I am going somewhere with this story, which is a good feeling.  I just have to not get frustrated with how long it will take to get me there.  Until then, I will just keep plugging away at what I have in my head, slow but sure, one sentence at a time.

I was able to make it to the gym for my kickboxing class tonight, which did not happen at all last week, and I am working on a few art/craft projects tonight.  I sat down to write and just couldn't get the words to flow smoothly and so after it felt as though I was pulling them through mud, I stopped.  I will re-evaluate tomorrow, once again :-)

It's been a busy weekend, and a quiet weekend for writing.  I have spent the weekend mostly away from home, running errands and seeing friends.  I did some house/kitty sitting for one of my older sisters in Augusta, and finally came home to relax.  I only wrote 2 paragraphs tonight, but they were a solid, emotional 2 paragraphs.  I'm content with them.  They came easily, and I decided not to push it.

We'll see how tomorrow goes.  I was disappointed not have more time to write this weekend, but hopefully this week will be better.

Today was a good day in general.  I got out of work early to spend some much needed time with my family and meet my new nephew, Jaiden.  It was a great chance to relax and see some people that I miss very much.

With the relaxation under my belt, I was able to write a little bit tonight, although I'm not terribly enthused with what I ended up with.  I've made a few notes with ideas on how to change it (with Shawn's help), and have a pretty solid idea of where I am going to go next.  We'll see how it goes.

I also learned that Microsoft Word has some pretty kick ass editing tools, which I am very excited to play with.  I can make notes on my story in the margins and Word will give me a management pane where I can see all of my notes individually instead of having to scroll through the entire work to find what I'm looking for.  Nifty!

Tomorrow should hopefully be another relaxing day.  I didn't make it to the gym today, but I'm hoping motivation will hit me tomorrow not only for the gym but for the writing.  I only wrote a few paragraphs today, and would like to be able to maybe do several pages tomorrow, if the muse is cooperative.  I hope so :-)

Yesterday was a not so good day for writing.  I didn't really have much time between work and errands to get any writing done.  I was so busy running errands that I didn't even make it to the gym! 

But that's ok, because this is a no-pressure kind of project for myself.  Today will be a little better for writing, I think, as I will be getting out of work early, and after spending time with my family, I should be able to hit the gym for my kickboxing class, and get home with lots of time to relax and write.

I did re-read what I have written so, to myself and aloud to my partner, Shawn, and both of us are pretty satisfied with what I've got started.  I need to also pick up a notebook for myself tonight; probably something small, just to keep with me to make notes and other thoughts that I can add to my story later.

Yesterday was a good day for writing.  I only wrote two pages, and about half of one page was dialogue, which I have always had a problem with.  But yesterday the words came smoothly, which was a nice surprise.  I feel like I could have easily written more than the two pages I turned out in about 20 minutes, but I want to keep the creativity fresh, and walked away when I found a decent stopping point.  I did make some notes to add to the story later.

I'm trying to write this entire thing on my netbook, which is another huge change from the way I normally write.  I have always written in a notebook, and transfered to a computer later, and perhaps that is where part of my problem has been; giving myself double to amount of work.  So I am trying to bypass my favorite step (I love writing and the simple act of writing on paper is very theraputic for me,) and go straight to the computer, which I am pleased to notice so far, has been relatively comfortable.  I think I will continue to make notes in a notebook with a pen and transfer them to the computer when I feel it's necessary.

Hopefully, my muse is as active tonight as she was last night :-)

What's different this time...

I have been asking myself why I think this attempt is going to be any different from my many other attempts to write a book.  I always start, get maybe 100-200 pages in and just stop.  My creativity just seems to dry up.  I remember trying to force myself to write, and how hard it was to churn pages when I forced myself to write.  The pages didn't come easily, the words seemed stuck, and the quality of the writing suffered.

This time, I am only going to try to sit down and write every day, if possible, and if the writing doesn't come, I'm not going to force it.  I am going to try to let my creativity flow on its own. 

For the first time in all of my attempts, I have a clear outline in my head of how I want this story to go, and what I want to happen.  Before, I would just write and let the story go where it wanted.  As a result, I ended up with fragmented thoughts and paragraphs, with a story that did not flow.

I am going to take it one sentence at a time, and not give myself a deadline.  I want to write this story, and I want to write it well.

And it begins :-)

Yesterday, I started one of the biggest projects of my life so far.  I decided to try to finally write that book people keep nagging me about :-)  I have a really solid idea in my head and for the first time in years, when I sat down to write yesterday, it came easily.

I also decided to keep track of my progress here, another insentive to myself to keep chipping away at this project.

I will leave my first post at this, a short sweet introduction.  Next time, I will give some details and some background on how many times I have started, and failed at this project, and why I am hoping this one will be different :-)