My writing is going really well these days. Almost ‘happy dance’ worthy.
At the risk of jinxing whatever forces are at work here, there it is, stated out loud. Well, written in black and white on the page.
I’m a bit giddy about this slow but steady shift taking place. There’s no time to waste wondering why this is happening right now, or worrying about how fragile or temporary the momentum may be. I just tip my smiling face downward and keep on writing.
Read more
I miss people. I miss spontaneous get togethers, unannounced summer visitors and the fun of planning birthday celebrations. Inevitable, I suppose, as a result of months-long, pandemic-induced, relative isolation. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
Letting housework slide and lounging for too many hours in front of the television have lost their appeal. Puzzling to me is why even reading is less pleasurable lately. I’ve chalked it up to the fact that it is such a solitary activity and what I want these days is more connection with live people.
Amid my somewhat limiting day-to-day routines, something promising has happened that has me excited about writing again.
Read more
So, I’m more than half way through writing the novel I’m currently working on, and I’ve hit a snag.
My characters have all gotten lazy.
They’re doing nothing. They’re talking about what’s happened so far, and they’re going through the motions of their day to day lives, but they’re not moving my plot ahead in any visible way.
And I’ve gotten bored with them.
About to jump into a new writing project, I find myself developing brand new characters, and I realize I haven’t really done this in a while. I’ve been working on one large writing project for a long time and have grown very comfortable and familiar with my main characters. Yes, there are new characters that enter the scene from time to time and have their roles to play, but the main characters remain constant. They grow and change along the way, but I see them so clearly. While there is a lot to creating any character, there’s something about creating a new main character and the world around them, seeing them begin to take shape and take on a life of their own. Beginning hazy, you start to see their faces, their bodies, their mannerisms. Their passions, views, and the way they look at and interact with the world take shape. You see their relationships and the way they connect with people, and how these interactions make them feel. I find it a fun and exciting process.