It’s been a long time. Since I’ve last written, I’ve quit my soul-sucking day job, kept myself aloft with freelance work, and found myself another placement. I am excited about my new position: the atmosphere is lovely, the people are wonderful, the perks and benefits are amazing, I’ll make enough to support me and my stay-at-home house man, and I think I’ll be able to do the work well. Since freelance work kept me isolated before my keyboard, I’ll have to brush up on interpersonal skills, though (a notorious strong point of many reclusive writers). I will be talking to humans every day!
While I was pursuing the freelance work, I also finally broke through my writer’s paralysis and started a new project. I approached 45k — and then stopped. I got horribly nauseatingly ill. For weeks. Just when I’d gotten to the romantic fun and games section, too. I’d sit down in front of the keyboard, staring at my monitor, thinking: write, write, gotta write, gotta… blarg.
That’s just not… romantic.
I know that hurt/comfort’s a thing. I know that there’s nothing sweeter than an attentive, worried lover dropping by unexpectedly with homemade, hopefully delicious, soup. But trying to generate romance when I was flat on my back, my cat ecstatically taking advantage of my prone helplessness, that’s not candles and chocolate and roses, and please, do not even mention the word oysters. Please.
But now I’m feeling better, if tired, and I’m ready to get back on track. But the problem is, I look at the book and I think: Oh. That’s where the… blarg was. So I may have to change tactics and do something I don’t usually try at 45k, but hey, I’m starting out, and what do I know about what I usually do at 45k? I think I might go ask some friends for advice. Some writers who’ve got more experience than I do, who will challenge me to write something spectacular.
Whether you’re a reader or writer, I think that you’ve probably noticed what a wonderful community there is in romance, not to mention science fiction and fantasy. I meet writers and readers who go out of their way to help, simply because they love books. So I’m excited about what will come when I ask my friends and writing group to take a look at this, because I’m sure they’ll challenge me with new ideas. And I’m especially looking forward to GeekGirl Con, where I’ll be on a panel, and where I’ll have the opportunity to get to know so many more people in this wonderful community.
See you there, I hope!