Two-thirds of the first draft for AWEN STORM is written, and for the last several months I have danced around it, reading, editing, fiddling, admiring, wincing, and, GROAN... Still no new words.
Every day I vow to write at least one new sentence. And yet, here I sit, staring at Blogger, rather than my open WIP (work-in-progress).
Of what am I afraid? They are, after all, only words, right? A first draft, no less. Nothing life-threatening. Or even vaguely scary.
So why aren't I writing?
My life has changed, yet again. So what. I now have an employer rather than being solely self-employed. So what. I'm exhausted much of the time. So what. I still have Tuesdays and Thursdays (and most weekends) available.
My goal is to complete the first draft by November 30, 2017. That's twenty thousand words in two months. Totally doable. But first, I must get past this reluctance, this fear, this paralysis.
So here's the plan.
I publish this brief post. I open a composition book. I write a new sentence, paragraph, scene, chapter. I return to report my progress.
Because, DAAAAMN. Writing shouldn't be this hard!
Here goes.
Every day I vow to write at least one new sentence. And yet, here I sit, staring at Blogger, rather than my open WIP (work-in-progress).
Of what am I afraid? They are, after all, only words, right? A first draft, no less. Nothing life-threatening. Or even vaguely scary.
So why aren't I writing?
My life has changed, yet again. So what. I now have an employer rather than being solely self-employed. So what. I'm exhausted much of the time. So what. I still have Tuesdays and Thursdays (and most weekends) available.
My goal is to complete the first draft by November 30, 2017. That's twenty thousand words in two months. Totally doable. But first, I must get past this reluctance, this fear, this paralysis.
So here's the plan.
I publish this brief post. I open a composition book. I write a new sentence, paragraph, scene, chapter. I return to report my progress.
Because, DAAAAMN. Writing shouldn't be this hard!
Here goes.
~ That Rebel, Olivia J. Herrell writing as O.J. Barré
P.S. Poking my head in to report that I have373 719 shiny, new words, and the set-up scenes for a-Ur, the air dragon. This could sound meager, but I'm happy for these babies, and know that more will soon follow.
P.P.S. Update, November 2, 2017, unstuck is as unstuck does. The story has progressed, and another 10K words added. I'm on track to finish the first draft of AWEN STORM by month's end. Yeehaa!!
P.S. Poking my head in to report that I have
P.P.S. Update, November 2, 2017, unstuck is as unstuck does. The story has progressed, and another 10K words added. I'm on track to finish the first draft of AWEN STORM by month's end. Yeehaa!!
O.J. Barré is author of the upcoming AWEN trilogy, a rollicking fantasy set in 2042AD, that combines ancient, current, and future history. Book One, AWEN RISING, is complete and in query. The first draft of Book Two, AWEN STORM, is nearing completion, and Book Three, AWEN TIDE, is swirling in the mists of creation.
