Getting past the block.

I'm in a block. It's pretty big. I have room to move, I have life to live, I have things to do in this block, but I can't get past it.

I tried writing in my newest project, but it just wasn't going where I wanted it to go. I started having all these thoughts about how terrible of a writer I am because I can't get past it. That I can't think of a story other than the one I finished that I'm querying about.

I gave up last night and started watching one of my favorite show on hulu.com. Then I went to bed without having progressed at all in my story. As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, (I can lay there for hours and still not fall asleep) I started thinking of all the books I've loved. How great they were and how I wished I could do something as amazing. Then I realized, I'd never get something amazing out there if I quit. I began thinking of all the stories I'd had churning over and over in my head over the years. None that I had ever thought of writing down, because I only decided to give writing a try about 9 months ago. I also thought of continuing my first completed book because I left it open enough to go forward if I wanted to.

I still don't think I'll be able to just pop out a book in the next couple of months, but I will get something out there in the next little while. And will all begin with me opening up a blank page and starting to type.

Imagine me climbing out of a box and walking away from my block.

Here I go.

Why don't you want to read an unfinished story???

When I first started writing, it was mostly for fun. I wanted to see where the idea I started with could go. As I got more and more into it, I had delusions of grandeur thinking that of course as soon as I finished it, I'd just have to send it to an editor and they would immediately want to publish it. Then I could start work on the story that would follow it. (That isn't how it works BTW)

As I was working on it, I had my husband read it. I talked it over with my sister and begged her to read my newest chapters and give me feedback.

They were both helpful, but my husband would get a little irritated when I'd ask him to read what I had just written. At first, I was bothered that he wasn't begging to read my newest sentences and tell me how wonderful they were. Because of course they were all wonderful.

When he explained that he didn't like reading what I wrote because I hadn't gotten any further than that most brilliant of paragraphs I had just stopped writing to show him. He wanted a finished product. He wanted to know what happened next.

It never dawned of me that that would be an issue. I of course knew what I wanted to happen next and we had even discussed different ways for that to happen, I didn't have a problem with the rest of the story not written down. It was always available to me.

I wouldn't want to start reading a book and only have part of it there. I suppose it is even more irritating than when you finish a book in a series and have to wait for the next in the series to be released.

So this time around, I've been working on my next project and have asked my sister some questions about where I could go with my idea, but I promise not to be too pushy in asking for feedback as I'm going. (Unless of course they want to read my genius words.)

And speaking of series. Here are a few of my favorites (in no particular order) that I had a hard time waiting patiently for the next installment.

Harry Potter, The Wheel of Time, Twilight saga, Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, Fablehaven....

What are some of yours?

My first attempts at blogging!

Nine months ago, I started a writing course trying to get some writing experience, and some credits to renew my teaching license. I let it expire while I was raising my 4 children. (Currently ranging in age from 20 months to almost 8.) One of my first assignments just kept going and going and eventually a Young Adult science fiction story of approximately 81,000 words just appeared.

I couldn't believe how much I LOVED writing. I would write late into the night. Avoid doing housework until I had a block that I couldn't write through. Many times I would be washing dishes at the sink and I'd get a great idea for something in the story, or some great dialogue to move the story forward. I couldn't wait to get done with the dishes. (I never left them undone once I started, cause I didn't want to come back to a sink full of cold dirty water.)

After 6 months of writing, I finished my book and eagerly looked into getting it published.

What did I discover? Writing is easy. Editing, revising, changing, cutting, and revising again is hard. Looking for an agent to be interested enough to want to represent you and contact an editor (Who seem to be only interested in listening to an agent who is interested in your book) is also hard.

So I'll be blogging about my journey from idea to published (Hopefully sooner rather than later, but someday I will be.)