At Last!
I don't know exactly how many of my readers are writers, as well, but I would like to have a serious discussion today with y'all about that which vexes all prose-ians.
Yes, my loves, I am talking about writer's block.
The term itself is frightening, isn't it? Some people (lucky bastards . . . ) will never have to suffer the trials of this horrible condition. Others, like myself, will be frequently plagued with it all of their lives, perhaps because a lack of confidence leads one to believe that they cannot write anything better than what they have already written. This last, at least, is true in me.
While writing "The Noble Emotions," I realized that I wasn't having any writer's block whatsoever. I was cranking out fairly long chapter at about weekly to bi-weekly intervals. This was frankly amazing to me. And then, like the proverbial sack of bricks (or any other heavy object, I suppose), it hit me.
I couldn't get inside Draco's head anymore.
This made me sad. Very, very, very sad. Actually, it was around the time that I met my husband that my ability to write this story went, poof! So, I'm blaming him. Grr, Charlie!
But, I digress. It's really not his fault. It's just that after nearly 100 hand-written pages and nine wonderful (if I may so myself) chapters, Draco was done with me. He wanted me out of his head. And frankly, I was getting sick of having him in mine. If you're reading this and you are familiar with the story in question, you know that my characterization of Draco left him one seriously messed-up dude. Such is the way, sometimes. It happens, and it can't be helped. Still, our mutual ill will towards each other left me unable to write anything in his point of view. This, for me and I'm sure for you lucky devils who were following the story, sucked.
And yet again, I must digress! I'm sure anyone reading this (Elle in particular, one of my favorite readers/persons) who followed "Noble" from its unusual beginning to its semi-climactic cliffhanger, is aware that I was suffering from writer's block. Perhaps I should have posted a cry for help entry sooner, to get myself back on track. But, as any decent writer knows, writer's block can't be cured by anything but a sudden burst of inspiration.
And I have had one! Recently, as detailed in my last entry, I found out that I am pregnant. This wasn't exactly what got me back on track, as Draco can't be pregnant and therefore can't identify with what I'm going through. But I also began attending classes again at the local educational center (otherwise known and loathed as HIGH SCHOOL) and have found that, like Draco, where I used to be able to excel, I now am constantly worrying about things much bigger than GPA. Past excellence has assured me graduation, and early graduation at that, so pretty much all I have to do is show up. I imagine that is what Draco must have felt like his entire sixth year at Hogwarts. Perhaps boredom, confusion, and worry vied in his head for the inside lane and tangled in his neurons. Once I finally was able to understand how Draco was feeling again, I could do something amazing.
I.
Could.
Write.
Now, mind you, it wasn't much. Baby steps and all that. But I would gladly submit that little scrap of writing for scrutinizing criticism if it were asked of me, and I feel certain that if I sit down with it again, I will be able to expand on it. One of the fun parts about coming back to a project after an extended leave is that you don't always remember what you've written, so I will have to revisit my previous works for continuity, and therefore had to write carefully today. That, and I was forced to write in red pen, which never does well for me.
Never fear, fans of "Noble!" I am writing again, I am posting again, and I am back in business!
Yes, my loves, I am talking about writer's block.
The term itself is frightening, isn't it? Some people (lucky bastards . . . ) will never have to suffer the trials of this horrible condition. Others, like myself, will be frequently plagued with it all of their lives, perhaps because a lack of confidence leads one to believe that they cannot write anything better than what they have already written. This last, at least, is true in me.
While writing "The Noble Emotions," I realized that I wasn't having any writer's block whatsoever. I was cranking out fairly long chapter at about weekly to bi-weekly intervals. This was frankly amazing to me. And then, like the proverbial sack of bricks (or any other heavy object, I suppose), it hit me.
I couldn't get inside Draco's head anymore.
This made me sad. Very, very, very sad. Actually, it was around the time that I met my husband that my ability to write this story went, poof! So, I'm blaming him. Grr, Charlie!
But, I digress. It's really not his fault. It's just that after nearly 100 hand-written pages and nine wonderful (if I may so myself) chapters, Draco was done with me. He wanted me out of his head. And frankly, I was getting sick of having him in mine. If you're reading this and you are familiar with the story in question, you know that my characterization of Draco left him one seriously messed-up dude. Such is the way, sometimes. It happens, and it can't be helped. Still, our mutual ill will towards each other left me unable to write anything in his point of view. This, for me and I'm sure for you lucky devils who were following the story, sucked.
And yet again, I must digress! I'm sure anyone reading this (Elle in particular, one of my favorite readers/persons) who followed "Noble" from its unusual beginning to its semi-climactic cliffhanger, is aware that I was suffering from writer's block. Perhaps I should have posted a cry for help entry sooner, to get myself back on track. But, as any decent writer knows, writer's block can't be cured by anything but a sudden burst of inspiration.
And I have had one! Recently, as detailed in my last entry, I found out that I am pregnant. This wasn't exactly what got me back on track, as Draco can't be pregnant and therefore can't identify with what I'm going through. But I also began attending classes again at the local educational center (otherwise known and loathed as HIGH SCHOOL) and have found that, like Draco, where I used to be able to excel, I now am constantly worrying about things much bigger than GPA. Past excellence has assured me graduation, and early graduation at that, so pretty much all I have to do is show up. I imagine that is what Draco must have felt like his entire sixth year at Hogwarts. Perhaps boredom, confusion, and worry vied in his head for the inside lane and tangled in his neurons. Once I finally was able to understand how Draco was feeling again, I could do something amazing.
I.
Could.
Write.
Now, mind you, it wasn't much. Baby steps and all that. But I would gladly submit that little scrap of writing for scrutinizing criticism if it were asked of me, and I feel certain that if I sit down with it again, I will be able to expand on it. One of the fun parts about coming back to a project after an extended leave is that you don't always remember what you've written, so I will have to revisit my previous works for continuity, and therefore had to write carefully today. That, and I was forced to write in red pen, which never does well for me.
Never fear, fans of "Noble!" I am writing again, I am posting again, and I am back in business!