Well, I had no idea my last post was in 2017, and that it involved Kim Kardshian -- or, at least, some of her. It may be my imagination, or maybe I'm out of touch. But I'm happy to believe our culture has finally moved on.
I'm not happy to see that it's been nearly as long since I began working on my new novel. And I don't understand why. I love to write. So what's the hold-up?
In a word, life happens...
And that might come off as a cop-out. I've often wondered how some authors crank out a five hundred page novel every year. Granted, they might be of varying quality, but that's not my point. I don't want to be a one-off author. I have plans for two more novels after the current project. But plodding along at my current pace, they won't be written until I hit senility, at which point I can predict their quality.
Blaming the onset of life under the cloud of COVID definitely qualifies as a dodge. If anything, as far as writing goes, the virus presents an opportunity. Don't misunderstand. I'm not diminishing the incredible, negative impact on just about everything. But with more time spent sheltered at home, more time to write became available.
Didn't happen.
More recently, my wife Becky and I have been tending to our fur-baby Fritz, who is in the end stages of cancer. We're spending as much time with him as possible. We do our best to make him comfortable and make sure he knows how much we love him. That being said, I'm writing this right now with him snuggling with Becky nearby. So, that's not it.
I am happy to say, though, that I'm more focused lately on my work. The story presents what I used to look at as "problems," but now consider "challenges." The molding of characters stokes my creativity. As this is a prequel to Mortal Foe, making those characters behave in ways that both make sense to readers and still surprise them is a challenge I'm embracing more.
To coin an old cliche, the creative juices are flowing again. Now I just have to find a way to keep that tap open.
I'm not happy to see that it's been nearly as long since I began working on my new novel. And I don't understand why. I love to write. So what's the hold-up?
In a word, life happens...
And that might come off as a cop-out. I've often wondered how some authors crank out a five hundred page novel every year. Granted, they might be of varying quality, but that's not my point. I don't want to be a one-off author. I have plans for two more novels after the current project. But plodding along at my current pace, they won't be written until I hit senility, at which point I can predict their quality.
Blaming the onset of life under the cloud of COVID definitely qualifies as a dodge. If anything, as far as writing goes, the virus presents an opportunity. Don't misunderstand. I'm not diminishing the incredible, negative impact on just about everything. But with more time spent sheltered at home, more time to write became available.
Didn't happen.
More recently, my wife Becky and I have been tending to our fur-baby Fritz, who is in the end stages of cancer. We're spending as much time with him as possible. We do our best to make him comfortable and make sure he knows how much we love him. That being said, I'm writing this right now with him snuggling with Becky nearby. So, that's not it.
I am happy to say, though, that I'm more focused lately on my work. The story presents what I used to look at as "problems," but now consider "challenges." The molding of characters stokes my creativity. As this is a prequel to Mortal Foe, making those characters behave in ways that both make sense to readers and still surprise them is a challenge I'm embracing more.
To coin an old cliche, the creative juices are flowing again. Now I just have to find a way to keep that tap open.