Kicking the Muse

It was a great idea--a little novella, no more than sixty to eighty pages--wham, bam and we have another publishing credit under out belt. Yeah. Cocky much? Apparently so. That little idea morphed on me. It's going to be good, but it's in that part of a book that you drag yourself through. I don't know about you, but 20,000 words is my Achilles heel. I'm flying until then and next thing I know, I hit that word count and SPLAT!! Smashed to bits, the wreckage of ideas floating around me.

I know what I have to do. I know I have to get my inner lazy teen to just sit down, focus and plow through. Once I get the story to the half way mark--usually around 30,000 to 35,000 words I'm golden. I can see that long slide to "The End." It's the uphill climb I dread.

Ironically, it reminds me a lot of the plot map I'm poun--er, refreshing the memory of--in classes this past month. I'm excited to start a new project, so the new setting, the new characters, the new conflict they all fly like the exposition in a story. It's the rising action, the mountainous climb to the climax. I get about halfway up and want to make base camp. For months. Well, it's move or freeze time.

Like last year, I wanted to finish FIRST OF THE FALLEN by the end of my Christmas Break. Same deal here. I was hoping to get it finished over summer break, but I admit I let my little kid out to play and once released after two weeks in Disney World, she didn't want to sit down at the dining room table and get back to work. It's been hard enough keeping that personality in the box for the beginning of the school year. Particularly a school year in which I'm under evaluation. Yikes! Don't need to let her slip the leash.

So, yes, back on track. FLAMES OF THE FALLEN done by the end of Christmas break and a new angels book (though this one is more ifrits and demons and magicians, oh my!) in the new calendar year. I promise!

Comments

  1. G. B. MillerSeptember 27, 2016 at 5:23 AM

    Sounds like a good plan. Novellas are my length of choice, so I wish you the best of luck.

    Father Nature's Corner

    ReplyDelete

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