My Muse Has Lost Her Mojo

A word is not the same with one writer as with another. One tears it from his guts. The other pulls it out of his overcoat pocket. ~Charles Peguy

I tried to write yesterday... TRIED being the important word in that sentence. I haven't finished my fantasy (I'm SO freaking close) and I have one more week to meet my goal. I'm at the pivotal, uber-important part of the story and I don't know if I'm overwhelmed by it, intimidated by it, or just don't know how to get from point A to point B, but I open up the document and stare at it.

I was determined to write, though, so I opened "A Change of Tune". The Wild Rose Press is going to be offering a new western series and my store would fit in neatly. Since it's a sequel to my other TWRP story, "A Change of Heart", I figured I could kill two birds.

I'm at a fabulous point of the story, one that could be touching and funny and is quite pivotal (I plan on it being the first kiss for my H/H). I know what I want to happen, but when I open the document I just stare.

I used to write longhand when this happened, but my thumb is still achy and I can't write easily. So, I decided to open something light and silly, something I could write in without concern. A story where I could flat out be goofy if I wanted, thinking abject silliness might be the cure. I opened "Perilous Love". And stared. I admit, I finally just decided to write whatever came to mind just to see if I could bash through the block. It didn't help.

And I went to bed utterly dejected.

I'm going to give it a go again today. And tomorrow. And the next day. I suspect part of my problem was not writing something every day. It's easy to get out of the habit and, just like exercise, we get out of shape.

I hope that's all it is.

*sigh*

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You Are Liquid

You are a laid back person, and you always good with the flow. Why fight things? You are dreamy and imaginative. You get swept up in the moment, and you love abstract concepts. You are comfortable with solitude. You treasure your alone time and get into your own groove. You don't follow rules, and you definitely aren't punctual. You act without consulting anyone else.

Are You Solid, Gas, or Liquid?

Except for being comfortable with solitude? This is completely wrong.

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Thoughts On My Writing

"Writing is an exploration. You start from nothing and learn as you go." - E.L. Doctorow

I was contemplating the writing I want to get done this year. It's not *that* much, really, and if I apply myself, I should be able to.

*Queen and Assassin (my fantasy): Finish by 1/31 -- it's at 30k words right now, and nearly finished (maybe another 5 - 10k to go), so I should make it.

*Now and Forever ("Kitchen Matches" sequel): Finish by 4/30 -- it's about 18k words right now. I'd planned for it to be around 20k, but that's not going to happen! There's a lot more to go, storywise, so I think I'm more like about half done.

*A Jewel for Geoff ("One Love for Liv" sequel): Finish by 12/31 -- this will be at least 55k, and since I have to redo the entire thing, this is the "iffy-est" goal on my list.

*Drive Me Crazy (another "Kitchen Matches" story -- technically the sequel to "Now and Forever" even though I started it first): Finish by 8/31 -- it's at about 15k and more than half done, so I should be good.

At least two "short" short stories (15k words or fewer) -- possibly "Perilous Love" or "Beautiful Blossom", both of which are started and *sort of* outlined.

If I have time, I'd like to complete "A Change of Tune" (the sequel to "A Change of Heart"), also started, but not outlined.

Since all of those except "Geoff" are novellas, I don't think that's unreasonable.

I wish I was like Dru -- who mentioned yesterday that she prefers to get around 5 hours of sleep a day ... that would give me 3 extra hours of up-time daily!!

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You Are Easygoing

Your friends would all agree that you have a pleasant personality. You're easy to get along with. You appreciate people from all walks of life. You especially like colorful, quirky folks. You are mostly a flexible person, but you can be unpredictably stubborn at times. You always need to stick to your routine. If you end up deviating from your plan, you aren't as dependable as you'd like to be.

The Pasta Test

About 50/50 -- I'm neither flexible nor particularly easy-going but otherwise it pretty well fits.

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