I kid you not Chronicle family, I’ve been working on the follow up to Office Extravaganza for over three months, and I’m over it! I know some of you are probably like, “But it has only been three months. It takes some people years to right a novel.” And you’re right. A novel, which is usually over 40,000 words depending on your genre, can take years to write.
However, I’m only writing a novelette, 20,000 words or less, and it’s taking FOREVER!
Has Quitting Season Started?
So, I’ve asked myself, “Self, is it finally time to quit?”
It’s like every day I tell myself that I have to finish today. Ideas keep coming and I jot them down but then stop because I freeze up. The words that follow that initial burst of creativity don’t feel or look right on my screen. They don’t give me that electricity like the others did. Then, I switch directions and tell myself, “Just give yourself one more day and it’ll be done.” Now imagine doing this same routine day after day, week after week, and now month after month.
I promise I’m not bored with the storyline, or characters or subthemes. It’s like I can’t get it all the way out of me. I went to the beach, my favorite writing place, and came up with some amazing ideas for my business but then the story just stalled again.
What’s in between writer’s block and master-classing manuscripts? That’s right, me. *Slaps forehead and falls back on the couch*
Follow the “Rules” or Make Them Up
I’ve been told and researched that if you’re stuck on a story you should stop writing it. Move to a different storyline and if the story is worth writing, it’ll come back around, I guess like a Frisbee. Or maybe it’s more like a bad relationship that comes back around good. Either way I digress.
Then I feel like, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. But, I don’t want to!” *Stomps away, like a six-year-old throwing a tantrum*
Honestly, my opinion for when you’re supposed to quit at anything, even writing, is only when you don’t love what you’re doing anymore and I’m still in love with this story. I’m giving myself one last week to finish this first draft. I’ll come back next week and let you know how it goes, promise. In the meantime, check out my new bookstore and share what you’re working on too. Have you had some writing woes recently?
With passion,
DNC
