Sunday, September 9, 2012

Letting Go


I currently have a blog post saved in my drafts called, "Hiatus," one I hope to never have to send. A few of you may have seen a similar Facebook status. I'd reached a breaking point a few weeks ago. Totally burned out, I worried if I'd ever write again. Due to my dry writing spell, social media sites grew frightening. I hit an impassable wall. 

I wrote a post explaining why I needed a break. Each word I wrote, whether for a post or a book, became a chore, and I deleted more passages than I kept. Because I finish what I set out to do, I forced myself to complete Broken Wing, the third installment of The Angel of 13th Street series. 

Now Broken Wing was poised to be the most heartfelt story I'd ever written. The ideas flowed; my keyboard could scarcely keep up. When the story grew too large and convoluted, it split into two parts. Fallen Angel was the result. I hurried through Fallen Angel, desperate to get to Broken Wing, the work I'd hoped would be a masterpiece. 

Then my muse fled me. Completely. The result is something I only showed one beta, who agreed that I'd missed my mark. It broke my heart, and I despaired of ever writing again. Was I washed up? So early in my writing career?

And then a funny thing happened. The characters from Diversion began speaking to (yelling at) me. Effortlessly the story began writing itself, and I put aside all other projects, knowing that when my muse commands me, I'd better obey, or the story would remain untold forever. 

I'm now past the 40,000 word mark on Collusion, and am hoping history doesn't repeat itself, leaving me with another half-finished manuscript. I'm writing again, I'm enjoying it again, and for now the "Hiatus" post remains a draft. 

As for Broken Wing? Sadly, though I completed the first draft, it may never see the light of day. But who knows? After I shut Bo and Lucky up, Lark and Sam may begin whispering in my ear again. 

10 comments:

  1. It's terrible when a story stalls. :( I'm glad your muse rescued you by sending another story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Tali. I believe the problem may be that I was trying to tell the story from Lark's perspective, when perhaps I should let Sam do the talking. I'm not trashing the draft by any means, and hopefully one day the muse will say, "It's time."

    ReplyDelete
  3. I can only imagine what an awful feeling that must be for an author. Maybe you just needed a break from that story for awhile. I'm just glad your muse started speaking to you again because I love Bo and Lucky and I can't wait for another story about those two. Take care and happy writing. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Lisa. I'm hoping to pick up Broken Wing at some point, but right now I'm having fun with Bo and Lucky. It was a relief to discover that my "writer thing" wasn't permanently broken.

    ReplyDelete
  5. *hugs* I'm glad characters started talking to you again! Whew!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks, I was worried. I just finishing laying in the story for Collusion. Now I have to go back and enhance. I'm not even finished with this story and Lucky is already hammering me for the third installment.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hit walls like that now and then, and it's always the characters who rescue me. But that in-between place can be scary. I'm kinda stuck with my WIP and am letting it simmer a couple of days hoping the characters will get their sh*t together and tell me the rest of the story!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sometimes a few days is all it takes, but in the case of Lark and Sam, they simply disappeared. I'm hoping they'll come back soon.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sometimes you have to let life lead you instead of the other way around. I'm so glad to hear that you're on the other side of it now!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks, Cole! Collusion has been after me hot and heavy, and I'm now in the fleshing the story out stage. I always hate abandoning work, but hopefully, when the time is right, I can pick Broken Wing up again. I had the same problem with the sequel to The Telling, and have been working on it for three years now.

    ReplyDelete