With my novel, that is. (Don't worry, the hubby and I are doing fine. But for the sake of this post, let's assume my true love is my WIP, shall we?)
I've made no secret of the fact that working on my novel has been a slog. I got to a point in the book that was just not interesting to me in any way. Hence the hiatus and the whining and complaining about the capabilities I do or don't have.... You get the picture.
Well, I've finally gotten to a point where I LOVE this book again. How do I know? Because I just cried for my main character. The poor guy, he's really getting the raw deal at the moment. Good for me, not so good for him.
Okay, wait. Before you think I'm some sadistic writer who gets her thrills from putting a good guy through the worst pain, give me a chance to defend myself here. I cried for him. That means that what I'm writing is some pretty emotional stuff to write. And if it's emotional to write, the chances are fairly good that it'll be emotional to read. And THAT is what I aspire to - creating things that will bring out my readers' emotions. It means I'm getting my point across.
So, yay! Yay for sticking my guy in the worst possible situation without any foreseeable means to escape or save the day!
Now all I've gotta do is figure out his means to escape and save the day...
Uh, yeah. I'll get back to you on that one.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
It's crazy how things work out :)
So at the beginning of the year (I say that like the year is already half-way over), I set my goals. You may remember them? From a previous post? No?
Okay, I'll remind ya:
1. Finish my book and submit it to a few well-chosen agents;
2. Write another book for my sister-in-law;
3. Get my Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing; and
4. Collaborate with my musician friend to get some amazing songs written.
Phew. I'm winded just thinking about all that again. So obviously, I took on a pretty big year. And if I'm being honest, I really started to feel the pressure after I posted those goals - if I'm gonna put them all out there, I sure as hell better live up to them!
But things have taken a nice leisurely turn into a way for me to actually accomplish what I set out to do. I've started the course (and am loving every minute of it), and it's already teaching me things I needed to know for my book. Also, part of the course is a section on screenwriting and, desperate for a good idea to work with, I decided to peruse all of my old writing notebooks in search of something I could adapt into a script. Instead, I found some lyrics I wrote a few years ago that could fit in perfectly with my musician friend's latest acoustic piece. Yay! And finally, still short of a screenplay idea, the light bulb clicked on and I decided to write my sister-in-law her very own screenplay instead of a novel. I already had the ideas, characters, setting, etc. worked out, so it was a no-brainer to just use it. (She's thrilled, by the way.)
And as the icing on my cake, I've discovered that I would love, love, LOVE to be a freelance editor one day. As a way to fund my writing career, of course!
So that's it - my realization that your goals don't have work against you and that there's no reason not to put yourself out there and just go for gold :)
Okay, I'll remind ya:
1. Finish my book and submit it to a few well-chosen agents;
2. Write another book for my sister-in-law;
3. Get my Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing; and
4. Collaborate with my musician friend to get some amazing songs written.
Phew. I'm winded just thinking about all that again. So obviously, I took on a pretty big year. And if I'm being honest, I really started to feel the pressure after I posted those goals - if I'm gonna put them all out there, I sure as hell better live up to them!
But things have taken a nice leisurely turn into a way for me to actually accomplish what I set out to do. I've started the course (and am loving every minute of it), and it's already teaching me things I needed to know for my book. Also, part of the course is a section on screenwriting and, desperate for a good idea to work with, I decided to peruse all of my old writing notebooks in search of something I could adapt into a script. Instead, I found some lyrics I wrote a few years ago that could fit in perfectly with my musician friend's latest acoustic piece. Yay! And finally, still short of a screenplay idea, the light bulb clicked on and I decided to write my sister-in-law her very own screenplay instead of a novel. I already had the ideas, characters, setting, etc. worked out, so it was a no-brainer to just use it. (She's thrilled, by the way.)
And as the icing on my cake, I've discovered that I would love, love, LOVE to be a freelance editor one day. As a way to fund my writing career, of course!
So that's it - my realization that your goals don't have work against you and that there's no reason not to put yourself out there and just go for gold :)
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