Friday, July 15, 2011

Slowly but surely....

I've just crept over the 20k mark in my new WIP. And boy has it been a hard 20k. I don't know what it is about this book that's so difficult, but I'm finding it really, really hard. The idea is there, the characters are interesting (or at least I think they are) but I can't help feeling like I'm writing something duller than ditchwater and twice as slow.

I usually fly through first drafts, but this one is more like a slow plod. Maybe I'm not inspired enough? Maybe I've started in the wrong place? Maybe it's not the right book to be writing right now? I don't know. For the first time ever, writing feels like hard work.

I thought getting the rough draft knocked out in 6 weeks would be easy, but I'm 12 days from my self-imposed deadline, and there's no way I'm going to meet it (even if the kids school holidays hadn't just started).

Should I put it away until I feel it screaming at me to work on it? Should I push through and ignore that nagging inner voice telling me it's a pile of horse manure? Should I start something new? Or should I take a break from writing all together?

Certainly, this week has been a crazy week for me. Some work stuff has been getting me down, and the weather hasn't done much to improve my mood.

Perhaps I'll spend a couple of nights trying to get through the MS critique I'm doing for another writer. Maybe then I'll find the inspiration I need to keep slogging on.

What do you do in situations like this? Work through it? Or just quit for a while?

2 comments:

  1. I usually fly to 20k and that it all slows down for a while.
    We ALL go through phases on a project where we feel like it's the dullest thing EVER, and not all projects fly along at the pace we'd like for them to.
    Good luck with it :D

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  2. I always have a hard time forcing myself to write when I don't quite feel like it. I was in that same spot last week and was cured by getting a critique on my first chapters. After that, I've been very motivated to get writing.

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