Showing posts with label novels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novels. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

IWSG - Writer's Block - an ending or a beginning?

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group

Writer’s block are two words that strike dread into the heart of many a serious writer. You had such a great idea so what the heck is going on? You sit in front of the screen and stare. You want to write but the words won’t come.

Having suffered from this malady only a handful of times in my so-called writing career, I’ve reached a few conclusions, at least where I’m concerned.

I’ve concluded that sometimes I simply need a break.  It’s time to go blog, play on twitter, even watch television. I get busy on something else and stop obsessing over a daily word count.

My day job frequently wears me out and I don’t have energy to spare at the end of the day. I might go through a period where my life is on a social merry-go-round. Or like now, caring for my mother is taking my energy. It is what it is. 

Even when I’m not writing I’m thinking about writing. I know from experience the wheel will turn and I’ll be back at the keyboard, banging away.  

The main thing is to never give up on anything you want to have in your life. Let yourself rest if necessary, but always hold fast to the knowledge that you can find your way back to the things you love to do. Writer’s block is certainly scary, but it doesn't have to be an ending. It can be a chance to reboot, and an opportunity for renewal and regrowth. 

Search yourself for whatever is keeping you from the keyboard. Be honest about it to yourself. Don't hide from it, but learn from it instead. Write it into a story and render it unable to distract you from your path again. 

They say knowledge is power. Knowing yourself, and conquering those things which hold you back from your goals, gives you the power to achieve them.  

Rayne Forrest

Saturday, January 2, 2016

Looking ahead in 2016

Celebrating a New Year is a mixed bag for me. I suppose that's because I don't view a day on the calendar as the magic start to a chance for a "do over." January 1, 2016 doesn't dump us out at the same spot January 1, 2105 did. We've moved forward to a different place. There is no "do over." There is only "do." What do I want to do in 2016? More appropriately, what do I want to accomplish in 2016?

Much of the same as in 2015 so it seems. The plan is to keep chipping away at the manuscripts until I can get each of them back out in the world. With any luck, a new story or two will get finished. It's not like I don't have them started.  

I still have the day job to contend with, but I'm counting down the days until I can retire. Six years seems like a long time, but time flies. Case in point is we've just entered 2016. How did that happen? 

This new year may also be the year I do the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I've thought about it several times so maybe it's time. We shall see, come April. 

January 4 marks a year since A Hero's Bargain went out as an indie release. I've always loved this story. Ryder Vaughan doesn't seem to be hero material, but in the end, he reaches within, makes the hard choices, and carries them through. I bought the cover for A Hero's Bargain and it's what convinced me I had to learn to make my own. 

I joined the Insecure Writer's Support Group in 2015. It's a monthly blog hop where writer's share thoughts and experiences. I'm not sure I'm insecure, I rather think it's the opposite, but connecting with other writers is important. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with the IWSG through 2016. 

Yes, I do have some things to think about in the New Year. Not to do over, but to continue. There's nothing magic about it from where I sit. It's just life. I'd best be about it and not let a Saturday get away from me. 

Rayne
http://rayneforrest.blogspot.com