Stuck

Lately I haven't been writing anything. I just hit this mental brick wall and I can't think of anything to put down. It's extremely frustrating, because I still think about my characters all the time, but I just don't have anything to give them right now. I'm really quite sad about it.

So, to try and get me through my bout of writer's block, I'm reading a ton of books, hoping to be inspired by others' awesomeness, and working on a fiction blog with Andrea and Aubrey. I'm hoping it will be a place that will help me work past blocks like this because I can just write without it having to be perfect or even connected to what I'm working on now. It will be purely for fun and to stretch my imagination. You can check it out here.

So, that's where I am right now. Stuck with impatient characters and a new blog that might help me unblock myself. And if you're wondering what I'm reading right now, I'm working my way through the books of the Breathless Reads Tour. I've got 2 more to go before they come here in a couple weeks. Check them out, they're extremely good and are helping me find my motivation again.

Matched - Ally Condie
Nightshade - Andrea Cremer
Across the Universe - Beth Revis
The Eternal Ones - Kirsten Miller*
The Replacement - Brenna Yovanoff*

*I'm reading these next.

So wish me luck that I can find the motivation and the inspiration again, and happy reading until then!

Update and Music

So, I originally posted this song (different video) a few weeks ago, but it was taken off and I don't know if anyone got to see it. So I'm posting it again, because it's just such a great song and it connects to my main male character so much. I love Taylor Swift, and this is off of her newest CD. I think the lyrics are absolutely perfect for what my poor boy goes through, and while I prefer the acoustic version of this song, the powerful music in this version seem to add to the hurt and frustration in the lyrics and fits the character better. I'm sure this will be a song I listen to over and over when I officially get to that part of the book.

In other news, the critique group when fantastically, with good ideas for everyone on their individual projects. Andrea is going back to start on draft two of her book and is trying to not be distracted by a shiny new idea for a different book that also shows awesome potential. Aubrey is doing a major free write to get everything out before she starts putting it all together for her book. And I have to say, both girls have some incredible stuff going on. Andrea's story is gripping and intense and has me dying to know what happens next, while Aubrey's is heartwrenching and emotional and very beautifully written - even though she says it's all very rough right now. As for me, they gave me great feedback, and going through Aubrey's notes on my chapters was incredibly helpful. She is our editing queen and she has some fantastic ideas on how to make things sound more natural. Andrea gave me some great ideas on what to bring for book two and encouragement over some subplots going on in book one. I love these girls and these meetings are great for helping us all keep up our motivation.

I've managed to get out a couple more chapters since and I'm getting really excited about where I am. It's getting past most of the setup and into the meat of the story and I am really getting into it. It's on my mind all the time, and I'm constantly thinking about different scenes and dialogue and whatnot. It's actually kind of distracting, but I'm loving it. I'm just under 18,000 words and I'm amazed that I've gotten so far. My goal is at least 65,000 words for each book, though I would love to get to 80,000 if it works out that way. Which means that I'm almost a quarter of the way through!!! It's exciting and only helps keep my motivation up. I'm hoping to get to 20,000 by the end of the week, so wish me luck, and hopefully what I get out is good.

That's all for me right now. I'm still waiting on hearing back from the university I applied to, so in the meantime I'll keep on writing (and reading fantastic books by fantastic authors) while I wait. Until next time, happy writing everyone!

The Middle

So, I've been writing my book from the beginning for the last couple weeks now that I've gotten everything out with my free write. I feel like it's been going fairly well, and I've got about 11,000 words  -  my prologue and three chapters. So far I like what's coming out, especially things that I didn't bother with during my free write. The characters are fleshing out a little more and I'm getting a better feel for their personalities. But as I was working on chapter three, I realized something.

I really struggle with the middle "stuff".

I have a solid beginning and ending, because those are the most clear in my head. And I do have some scenes in the middle that are fairly clear as well. But it's everything else - the side characters, the sub-plots, the planting of hints without giving things away.... Yeah, that stuff is turning out to be really hard.

I've started books before, I have about 15 outlines for different stories of varying degrees of originality in notebooks all over my house. But I've never gotten this far. I've never gotten to the point where I'm seriously putting it all down with the intention of someday submitting it. And it's bringing to light all of the things I've never worried about before.

And it's hard.

By the time I'm done with a chapter, my mind is melted from trying to make it all work and sound good and coming up with new things that aren't stupid or distracting. It's really, really difficult. But I'm hoping that as I get further into the book, it will get a little easier, since right now is mostly set up and background and whatnot that I'm trying to figure out. *fingers crossed* *knock on wood* *wishing on a star*

For the moment I'm trying to not focus on getting it perfect. Right now I just want to get it out and finished. I can go back and make edits and rewrites as required, but if I worry about that right now, I'll never finish. So wish me luck that I can survive making it through the middle with my sanity, and that what I come up with doesn't totally suck. : )

I have another group critique on Tuesday that I'm super excited about. I'm loving what the girls' are writing, and their feedback on my writing is always extremely helpful. Hopefully they'll have some ideas/thoughts that will help me make my way through the tough spots. I'll let you know how it went. Until then, happy writing!