My muse better send me a postcard.
Apparently, my muse has been on vacation. I suppose I kind of wore out the creative energy last week, because this week, every time I go to write, I either end up staring at a blank screen or I write absolute rubbish that I later delete.
That doesn't mean I'm not thinking though. Oh, there's plenty of thinking going on. For instance, I was thinking of how much stronger Above the Birds could be as a short story. It'd be a short story on the longer side but I think it'd be stronger.
Is this just me not wanting to write something novel-length? I don't think so, because I've already written it novel length. But I think much of it is unnecessary and poorly done. Sure, I could rewrite it into a novel, part one of four, and publish them over time...but I'm much better with short stories.
Why is that? I think it's because I'm a fickle person at times and I like being distracted and running off on tangents. That's not the sort of mindset conducive to novel length stories. I could reprogram my mind. That's always an option...but I think that right now it's not my best option. Not for this story.
Above the Birds could be completed within ten thousand words, as opposed to fifty thousand or more. So I think I will do that, and publish it with some of my other fantasy-genre stories such as "Brothers and Bandits" and "Belland's War" (the latter is also under restructuring.
I've also been thinking about a horror story anthology. "Crying Over Spilt Milk" is definitely going to be in there, after I edit for POV and fix the ending. I also want to include "Three Plagues" and talk with a coauthor about putting "Two A.M." in there as well. I've plenty of other horror stories rattling around that I'm considering throwing into the mix...just as with the fantasy anthology.
I think for me, for now, anthologies are the way to go. Because of work and life in general, committing to a novel just doesn't seem practical. I've realized this after inconsistent muse inspiration...going strong, and then nothing; going strong, nothing; so on and so forth. That doesn't lead, for me, to successful novel completion.
So this is where I stand. I have to edit poems as well for the poetry anthology. And I've some stories to write/edit for contests and submissions. I need to do Assignment 9 for LRWG still...but with this Friday off, I think I can punch it out this weekend. The hardest part is finding the right market.
Next week I want to get "The Bracelet" all fixed up for submission. I've chosen my market so it's just a matter of editing the story itself. I've gotten great comments, between Jackie Diamond (my LRWG teacher/mentor) and the NaNo writing group folks. I just...need to buckle down.
Muse, come back!
That doesn't mean I'm not thinking though. Oh, there's plenty of thinking going on. For instance, I was thinking of how much stronger Above the Birds could be as a short story. It'd be a short story on the longer side but I think it'd be stronger.
Is this just me not wanting to write something novel-length? I don't think so, because I've already written it novel length. But I think much of it is unnecessary and poorly done. Sure, I could rewrite it into a novel, part one of four, and publish them over time...but I'm much better with short stories.
Why is that? I think it's because I'm a fickle person at times and I like being distracted and running off on tangents. That's not the sort of mindset conducive to novel length stories. I could reprogram my mind. That's always an option...but I think that right now it's not my best option. Not for this story.
Above the Birds could be completed within ten thousand words, as opposed to fifty thousand or more. So I think I will do that, and publish it with some of my other fantasy-genre stories such as "Brothers and Bandits" and "Belland's War" (the latter is also under restructuring.
I've also been thinking about a horror story anthology. "Crying Over Spilt Milk" is definitely going to be in there, after I edit for POV and fix the ending. I also want to include "Three Plagues" and talk with a coauthor about putting "Two A.M." in there as well. I've plenty of other horror stories rattling around that I'm considering throwing into the mix...just as with the fantasy anthology.
I think for me, for now, anthologies are the way to go. Because of work and life in general, committing to a novel just doesn't seem practical. I've realized this after inconsistent muse inspiration...going strong, and then nothing; going strong, nothing; so on and so forth. That doesn't lead, for me, to successful novel completion.
So this is where I stand. I have to edit poems as well for the poetry anthology. And I've some stories to write/edit for contests and submissions. I need to do Assignment 9 for LRWG still...but with this Friday off, I think I can punch it out this weekend. The hardest part is finding the right market.
Next week I want to get "The Bracelet" all fixed up for submission. I've chosen my market so it's just a matter of editing the story itself. I've gotten great comments, between Jackie Diamond (my LRWG teacher/mentor) and the NaNo writing group folks. I just...need to buckle down.
Muse, come back!