Hi there,
So, I finished the first draft of When the Red Moon Runs Dry. Very happy with it! No doubt there is still a ton of work to do on it, but for now, I'm taking a break from the lives of Marshal Noel and Violetta Iolanda. I plan to start editing and rewriting in the middle of May, so whenever that's done, I will do my best to get it up on Amazon as soon as possible. Again, I know I still have a lot of work ahead on it, but I'm very excited to share it. After that, I'm thinking I have one or two books left in the still-untitled series. I'm hoping it's just one more book, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be two.
Took a few days off writing to "recharge". Found myself just kind of wasting time. I had all these great ideas, or at least I thought them so, floating around during this last composition, but each time I sat down to start writing them, they just felt dull. A friend of mine has been using writing prompts lately from a website we both read, io9. I started writing based on one, but two sentences in an idea just came to me and I had to stop working on my writing prompt. I wasn't sure what it was, but then 40-pages later, I realized I started my next book. I guess the writing prompt worked, even if my book has absolutely nothing to do with the prompt I initially started on.
I'm a big believer in pushing through creative malaise or frustration by simply continuing to write. It has never failed me, and has often lead to bigger and better things creatively. The ideas that have been stored away either in outlines, rough drafts, or my head will always be there and I can get to them when I am ready. I just was not ready, and felt lazy for not being able to get one of them going. By turning my attention to something out of my comfort zone, the writing prompt, it got the wheels turning and something completely unexpected and exciting came out of the process. Not trying to sound like a preachy writer or anything, but I would encourage anyone stuck trying to start a story or come up with an idea to make sure you don't stop writing, because if the motor is not running and the wheels aren't turning, you won't go anywhere.
Happy spring, everyone. It seems funny to write that on a particularly dismal rainy, April day. I live in Portland, Oregon, so my part of the world takes baby steps toward warmer and brighter days. I hope wherever you are that your part of the world is finding its way towards bluer skies and warm nights.
Thank you for reading.
