Monday, April 05, 2010

Back in the saddle again!

Super quick note, all!

Today's been a great day, even if I do feel a bit guilty about skipping my usual volunteering session at The Midget's school. Sometimes, you just have to get some work done. And now I'm finally making headway on the novel!

Taking such a long break from the book made it hard to get back to work. In fact, it was a little bit scary. I really like my project and I'm still really drawn to the characters and ideological framework, which really raises the nerve-wrack level. Every time I write something that doesn't work, I'm a little panicky. I know it's dumb. I know the book will get revised. That doesn't mean I'm not scared of ruining it now. And the most space I give myself, the more I get freaked out.

So last week, I was tired and too dang stupid to write anything. Sitting here staring at the computer, working on other projects, I had every little nasty thought about how badly this book was going to crumble. It was like I was trying to convince myself to give up. But now that I've sat down and kicked out a few more scenes, I feel much better. It might not be great literature, but it's a first draft, and that's all that matters.

Remember: she might be an ugly nag at first, but once you tame her down and shine her hooves, your WIP might turn out to be perfectly good racehorse!

3 comments:

Christie said...

Glad you're feeling good about it! But equally glad you took that time to go to the convention, and rest afterward. :)

Back to work! <3

Sandra Wickham said...

I had the WORST time getting back into my novel as well!! I really struggled, I think I wrote about 500 words of utter crapola, and am now getting back into the swing of things. I'm going away again and think I'll have to keep writing no matter what!!

Miriam Forster said...

I know exactly what you're talking about. The longer I don't work on my WIP, the bigger it gets in my head until it becomes like Everest.

Amazing how a few hours of work will reduce that unclimbable mountain back down to attainable size, isn't it?

WV: Catspers, the friendly feline ghost!