Apologies for the late arrival of this post. I have been distracted – a constant theme of the past two months, I know – by the beginning of some home repairs. My dining room currently looks like the quarantine scene from E.T., my kitchen, living room and storage space are full of the furniture that usually resides in the dining room, and my bedroom/writing space is currently overrun by the contents of a bathroom which is now an empty shell.
And now, on with the update!
It turns out, one way to fix a horrible creative block is to obsess over one little piece of writing. While I have yet to get back into my normal rhythm, there has been a glint of light peeking through the cracks in the wall I have been slamming my head against since March.
The story that has helped me get through this was mentioned last month. It began as a prompt from my writing group (Have I ever mentioned how happy I am to have that group and how much I enjoy spending a little time with them every month?) and evolved when I stumbled upon an open submission call. I am sticking with my original title of Silver Thaw because I like it and because I don’t feel like trying to come up with another. I have now read it aloud twice, both times with my group, getting feedback each time to get it to a more horror feel. It has a root in the typical horror trope of a character with something hidden in their past, but it is more intimate and contained. It is a very imagery-heavy story of 1,950 words, just under the submission limit. My first version was around 1,500, which is economical by my standards.
Keeping my word count down and my prose tighter has been one of the many skills I continue to improve upon because of my writing group. When you have limited time, many people who have work to share, and a story to be read aloud, keeping things short is imperative. I am a better writer because of it.
But having a few hundred words of room to add and improve made a world of difference in Silver Thaw. I trimmed it down in a couple of spots and worked on the focus, but that cushion gave me the space to add a few new elements to get the story to be more firmly in the horror space rather than a supernatural drama. Not to say it’s bloody, but the intensity and immediacy increased with my additions.
There is still a little polishing to be done, one more read-through and a bit more trimming, but I am thrilled with the way it came out. Hopefully the publisher I have in mind will like it as well.
With that intense focus on one short piece – it has been printed and edited a total of 7 times – I find that my mind is beginning to clear. I was able to get some editing done on both YA books – mostly cosmetic stuff on book 1, first real pass on book 2 – and added a bunch of detail work for book 3. I have a start date in mind for the dialogue pass and, if all goes well, for the actual commencement of work on full writing. I’m not going to jinx it by sharing it.
I have not read much this month again. I kept my focus limited to writing, just to give myself less distractions. As the block begins to crumble, I want to ramp up my reading time. The arrival of summer – and with it my long break – will see my free time to write and read increase.
Just one more thing – I still have an old announcement I am sitting on. I am just waiting for the publisher to give the go-ahead to talk about it. Keep watching – it will be here soon!
1 – Finish writing book 2 with at least two full rounds of edits. The editing process has begun! It is a slow slog through every word but it is worth it.
2 – Be at least halfway through writing book 3. Now that the block is beginning to crumble, this will be starting soon.
3 – Have at least two short stories accepted for publication. I have one in mind. The search continues for another.
4 – Expand my search for someone to publish these YA stories. I am sorting out my list into groups, researching more, and getting ready to send out some queries. I am aiming to start this process in June.
5 – Average two additional blog posts a month outside of monthly updates and publication announcements. Don’t start with me. I know I am very behind, but I plan on spending more time blogging in the next few months.
6 – Read 36 books. May reads: I did not finish a single book again. (total for the year – 5)