Archive for November, 2009

Divided~

10:04 pm · category: Chosen, Random Rambling, Writing

That is how I feel at the moment. Torn between two projects. As many of you know, the story formerly known as Chosen (which has yet to be renamed), has continually been the thorn in my side. I am in love with the characters, the story line…in fact there is very little I do not like about it. Well I digress, there is one thing. The fact that I can’t seem to finish it! So as I fight like the devil where that story is concerned, I put it to the side for fear of killing both it and my love for it.

Meanwhile, I brainstorm an idea with a friend. Fall in love. Decide to plot. It is working well. But the need to actually write pulls at me. I refuse to put pen to paper or fingers to keys until I really get the plotting stuff somewhat completed. Then the guilt hits. Why am I working on something new when I can’t finish what I was already working on? I truly have no business doing that. It’s no wonder I have anywhere from twenty to thirty partials on my desktop. Seriously, that is no joke.

So I have compromised. It was the best I could do with a divided heart. I will continue to plot the young adult book and not pen a word at this point, but I will also give in to my need to write with the other manuscript because it is just shy of 60k and that is a lot of work to just put to the side. Maybe the plotting will help renew my interest in the other. Maybe it will hinder me more. Who knows. All I know is… maybe if I hadn’t been so willing to share bits of my story prior to now, people wouldn’t be bugging for the finished version of it and I wouldn’t feel so guilty for putting it to the side. But as they say… I made my bed and now I must lay in it. Well I am getting nothing done at the moment. Time to get back to work.

Sláinte!

Plotting is the Devil~

8:33 pm · category: Random Rambling, Writing

Okay, I have never plotted one of my stories. I have said it once and will say it a thousand times over… I am a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl when it comes to writing. But it doesn’t always work to my benefit. So today I am trying to plot a story with a little help from my friends. Wanna know what that has landed me…

Zombies.

Oh yeah… interesting story in the making. Some conflicting ideas of course on where it should go, but ultimately I am the writer. I have the power…or my characters do. So with the ideas I am bouncing around, I decided to actually try and plot this story so that I can hopefully avoid the train wreck that inevitably happens on every story I have worked on thus far…plot holes and rewrites a plenty. Not sure if it will work to my benefit. I spent a lot of money on Dramatica and have yet to figure out that program even though it has tons of cool features. Also have Liquid Story Binder, it too I have yet to figure out all the details too.

For now, I am doing things the old fashioned way. Rough drafting scenes on paper. If I start drafting the story on the computer, eventually it will give way to writing by the seat of my pants, which one could argue has and has not worked for me in the past. Maybe approaching this story with a different writing process, might be just what I need to get me back in the swing of things. We’ll see.

On a side note… thanks Zombie Boy, I needed the brainstorming sessions.

Sláinte!