A little help from the Divine...
For the past few days, I've had a lot of questions about myself and my writing.
UNBREAKABLE's progress is slooow. Very slow. And while I anticipated writing a sequel would be difficult, I truly did not realize how difficult it would be. It does not help that two other ideas I've had on the back burner are starting to come to a boil -- a sign that, perhaps, those stories are ready to be written.
But I can't stop working on UBREAKABLE. That's important. That has to be out by the end of the year. Everything else has to wait. The Everwinter series already has a book out there for sale. I have readers. They're waiting for book two. They've emailed me and messaged me on FB to ask about book two. Everwinter is the money maker, making it vastly more important than any of my other ideas.
Ugh. But sequels are so hard.
And often, when words are hard to find for a story, I go into that dark place where I question why I bother writing at all. This results in me not writing, which results in me getting angry with myself for not writing which in turn drags me deeper into that dark place and the cycle continues.
So why then? Why do I write?
Duh. Because I love it. I love telling stories and creating worlds.
Loving to write doesn't necessarily mean I need to be a published author selling books, though. I can totally write for myself -- I did it for years and years before I decided to pursue publication.
Needing a little guidance and perspective, I decided to give myself a reading using oracle cards.
The first card I drew was about perseverance. It was the answer I knew all along, but it was nice to have it out there, slapping me in the face. Sometimes you need that.
I should continue to always write for myself, and worry less about publication and the business side of things. I only need to write. Perseverance pays off, and somewhere in the future I'll have tons of books published. Slow and steady and all that.
With that in mind, I did a second reading, this time questioning if I should stick it out with UNBREAKABLE or work on another project and not worry about UNBREAKABLE being published "on time".
I couldn't help but smile when the card I drew from the deck was "The Ice Queen" [1].
I thought for sure that was a sign that I needed to focus on the Everwinter novels, but I was wrong.
Putting UNBREAKABLE on ice, so to speak, allows it to thaw naturally at a time when the idea is ready to be written. I've been too hasty trying to reach my goal and it's been blocking me creatively. But perhaps it's for the best that I've been blocked here. Two other stories are telling me they are ready to be written, while this one insists it's not. I can't force it and I should really stop trying to, because doing so would only result in a story I am not happy with.
So I'm done forcing words. UNBREAKABLE simply isn't ready, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise.
And I am sorry, truly. To those of you waiting for book two. To all of you who have emailed me or sent me messages on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr...I am sorry. The story will be written, I can promise you that. I just can't promise that it will be this year.
One of the hardest things about being a writer is the constant desire to compare your progress with the next person's. It's hard, because all of our journeys are vastly different. I have a lot of writer friends who are on best selling lists, publishing their 10th book or their second series. I have other friends who aren't published but who manage to write thousands of words a day like nothing.
On some levels it's wonderful to be surrounded by all these different writers. I learn from them and they help me grow into a better writer, but at the end of the day, our paths are different. Nothing wrong with that, I just need to remember it.
Now that UNBREAKABLE is on ice (haha, see what I did there?), the question becomes: which project do I focus on now?
Stay tuned. ;)
[1] The deck I use is "Wisdom of the Hidden Realms". It has gorgeous and stunning artwork.
UNBREAKABLE's progress is slooow. Very slow. And while I anticipated writing a sequel would be difficult, I truly did not realize how difficult it would be. It does not help that two other ideas I've had on the back burner are starting to come to a boil -- a sign that, perhaps, those stories are ready to be written.
But I can't stop working on UBREAKABLE. That's important. That has to be out by the end of the year. Everything else has to wait. The Everwinter series already has a book out there for sale. I have readers. They're waiting for book two. They've emailed me and messaged me on FB to ask about book two. Everwinter is the money maker, making it vastly more important than any of my other ideas.
Ugh. But sequels are so hard.
And often, when words are hard to find for a story, I go into that dark place where I question why I bother writing at all. This results in me not writing, which results in me getting angry with myself for not writing which in turn drags me deeper into that dark place and the cycle continues.
So why then? Why do I write?
Duh. Because I love it. I love telling stories and creating worlds.
Loving to write doesn't necessarily mean I need to be a published author selling books, though. I can totally write for myself -- I did it for years and years before I decided to pursue publication.
Needing a little guidance and perspective, I decided to give myself a reading using oracle cards.
The first card I drew was about perseverance. It was the answer I knew all along, but it was nice to have it out there, slapping me in the face. Sometimes you need that.
I should continue to always write for myself, and worry less about publication and the business side of things. I only need to write. Perseverance pays off, and somewhere in the future I'll have tons of books published. Slow and steady and all that.
With that in mind, I did a second reading, this time questioning if I should stick it out with UNBREAKABLE or work on another project and not worry about UNBREAKABLE being published "on time".
I couldn't help but smile when the card I drew from the deck was "The Ice Queen" [1].
I thought for sure that was a sign that I needed to focus on the Everwinter novels, but I was wrong.
Putting UNBREAKABLE on ice, so to speak, allows it to thaw naturally at a time when the idea is ready to be written. I've been too hasty trying to reach my goal and it's been blocking me creatively. But perhaps it's for the best that I've been blocked here. Two other stories are telling me they are ready to be written, while this one insists it's not. I can't force it and I should really stop trying to, because doing so would only result in a story I am not happy with.
So I'm done forcing words. UNBREAKABLE simply isn't ready, no matter how much I wish it were otherwise.
And I am sorry, truly. To those of you waiting for book two. To all of you who have emailed me or sent me messages on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr...I am sorry. The story will be written, I can promise you that. I just can't promise that it will be this year.
One of the hardest things about being a writer is the constant desire to compare your progress with the next person's. It's hard, because all of our journeys are vastly different. I have a lot of writer friends who are on best selling lists, publishing their 10th book or their second series. I have other friends who aren't published but who manage to write thousands of words a day like nothing.
On some levels it's wonderful to be surrounded by all these different writers. I learn from them and they help me grow into a better writer, but at the end of the day, our paths are different. Nothing wrong with that, I just need to remember it.
Now that UNBREAKABLE is on ice (haha, see what I did there?), the question becomes: which project do I focus on now?
Stay tuned. ;)
[1] The deck I use is "Wisdom of the Hidden Realms". It has gorgeous and stunning artwork.