So, for the last week or so, I have been in a writing slump with my WIP. I still love it, but my characters are being extremely stubborn and only talking to me about scenes way ahead of where I am. Not very helpful and it's leaving me quite frustrated. I might do another free write, just to get it down, but I'm trying really hard to work straight through so that I have a solid, working first draft. Wish me luck that they'll be a little nicer to me so I can make progress again.
Also, I think I've been focusing too much on getting it done so it can be published. I know, I accepted Andrea's challenge, but it's putting my focus on the wrong part of the process, and I think it's contributing to my slump. I'm too focused on what other people will think, I'm not focused on just writing what I like; my story the way I want it told. So, I'm going to give my creative self some space and try to just think about writing the story for me. Not for anyone else. I think it will come out better too. Lately I feel like it's too forced, which makes me sad. I'm hoping to get a night once a week where I can turn on my music and disappear into my head for a few hours. I haven't done that in a long time, and I miss it. It's been way too busy around here.
Also contributing to my lack of progress (I know, there's a lot) is I have a new idea that's distracting me. It's a mixture of an old idea and a new one, which I feel makes for a new, even better idea. It's rolling around in my head and now those characters are starting to talk to me as well. It's getting very distracting in my head to be honest. So, since I'm paranoid I'm going to forget it, I'm doing a free write for this new idea. It's weird because usually I focus on one thing at a time, but I'm actually going to attempt to work on both the new idea and WIP until the free write for the new idea is done. Then, once it's safely stored in my computer and thumb drive, hopefully I can leave it alone and get back to my main WIP. Wish me luck.
And, last but not least, if you haven't headed over to Once Upon a Distraction you really should. All of our February stories are up, and I must say, they are pretty good for our first time. The theme for February was trauma (dealing with it, overcoming it, etc), just in case you were curious. Next month is more fun. In honor of Andrea - who LOVES 311 - March's theme is to use a 311 song as the title for the story. I have to say, I was surprised by what I came up with, because it has nothing to do with the song, so I'm curious to see what the girls come up with for their stories. And there's an awesome contest going right now to win a signed copy of Matched by Ally Condie. So really, you should check it out.
Oh, and just because I just finished it and it was incredible - everyone needs to read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. This book blew me away and I was crying by the end. The story was so amazing and so...relevant to life that I just can't get over it's awesomeness. I borrowed it from the library, but I'll definitely be buying my own copy in the future. And I'm making Casie read it. Really. It's amazing.
That's it for me at the moment. Until next time, happy reading and happy writing!!!
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