Wednesday 21 September 2011

Contemplating that first draft...

I have the idea, I have some characters (and am expecting a few more!), I have the location... but I don't seem to have the rocket under me to make a start!

I think the problem is that I've been writing short stories for over a year now (and have had 5 published in Woman's Weekly) (she says smugly) and there's a part of me (my ego) that can't let go of that desire to get more published.  Having had a few rejected over the summer, I'm finding it really hard to admit that maybe I've run out of original ideas for now and should admit temporary defeat and start on the novel.  I keep thinking "Just one more..." 

A novel is also terrifyingly long and I have a tendency to get bored quickly... However, I don't want to be limited to writing only short stories, especially as the market seems to be shrinking and becoming so much more competitive.

I'm a great believer in things happening when the time is right.  I guess the time isn't right tonight, but it might be right tomorrow night or next week.  I'll let you know when the rocket takes off!

Hope you're all happy and well.  Thanks for stopping by! :-)

2 comments:

Catherine said...

If you need a challenge to write that first draft, you should check out the Nanowrimo. One month, 50000 words (November). You don't have time to get bored and you have something that looks like a first draft at the end of the month.
I've tried it before and it really helped me getting ideas down, knowing my characters, etc. The second draft was a breeze after that.
Before trying the challenge, I couldn't get pass the first few chapters, it always seemed like an impossible goal. I thought I would only be able to write short stories, even if I'm really bad at it!
Good Luck!

Kittie Howard said...

Hi! I'm dropping in from Alex's blog hop. Nice to meet you. *waves* I'm your newest follower.