
I am SO exited about this one. I think, thanks to a conference I attended this past weekend, that I'm getting out of my reading slump.
Anyway. This. Feeling like I am finally getting back to reading and it's fabulous.
What is getting me out of this slump?
I've also started NightWalker by Jocelynn Drake, and am enjoying that too. I'm not big on vampire fiction right now, but I'm enjoying the writing, the plotting, and am reading it not only for enjoyment but also paying attention to how Ms. Drake does her wonderful world building with minimal info dumping.
What I'm Writing
I'll explain more in the next section, but I started the week writing my NA contemporary, and finished it doing my YA fantasy revisions.
What Works For Me.
Not outlining.
Yeah, I know. You read that right.
Last week, I was having a heck of a time with one of my contemporary projects. Partly because I'm on a tight time-frame with it, and a little bit because what I was writing didn't feel right, so I attempted to outline.
And attempted more. And more. And pulled my hair out.
And then, I did this thing where I said enough, stopped trying to outline, and left it alone for a day. When I went back to this project, I just started writing. And bam.
I was reminded that I need to throw my OCD out the window for first drafts, accept that I'm a panster, and go with it. Things came together, I figured out this character, solidified where the story was going, and some other story things--and it all came from ignoring my outline attempts and just writing.
And then, after this magical hells yeah moment, the project felt-finally-really on its way.
Then came this SCWBI conference I attended, and, well, I'm ending the week with a totally different plan than I had started it with.
I'm going to focus on my fantasy rewrite for the next few weeks, even though the contemporary started to make progress. There's lots of reasons for this, but my gut (not my logic- my logic is telling me to get the other novel done stat) is telling me this is the right move, at least for now.
The conference did wonders. Talking writing, the publishing business, and books with one of my favorite literary agents and some wonderful, passionate editors was very rejuvenating. It's also where my current reading list came from.
What Else I've Been Up To
The conference, as indicated above. Day job, possible sinus infection, getting punched in the face, trying to punch someone else in the face. Pretty much, the usual. Still trying to settle in at the new gym, and still waiting for Beth to be back on The Walking Dead.
What about you???