Don’t cry for me dear blog readers…

Well, that really just summed it up right there.  My thing-a-week project has come to a crashing failure around me, but really…I have to say I’m okay with that.  For a couple reasons.

Reason the first.  The short stories had moved from fun to grind.  Writing should not be a grind, it should never be a grind.  The point of writing is to have fun with it, but I wasn’t having fun anymore with the stories.  Every week I was dreading them more and more.  And that’s just not the way to get anywhere.

Reason the second.  I was leaving stuff behind.  I’ve got several other long term projects in the work, and I figured I’d be able to work on them in the background while also working on the stories.  No dice.  Haven’t been able to touch the novels I’d like to be editing, haven’t been able to help on the TV pilot I’ve been working on with my girlfriend, haven’t been able to work on my own planned spec script.  And, most importantly, haven’t been able to work on my blog.  Hi there!

Reason the third.  I still feel like I’ve learned something through all of this.  I experimented with some different voices, structures, and genres.  Some of them I was comfortable with.  Some I was uncomfortable with.  It’s good to know where I excel, where I’m weak, and frankly to focus on the former.  I know, I know, I’m supposed to grow as a writer, but I think I can do that just fine while acknowledging that my strength is not thrillers and avoiding getting into a big one of those.

So.  Here I am, at the far end of the project, but not as far of a far end as I’d hoped.  I’m staring down Nanowrimo now, trying to figure out just exactly what it is I want to do for it.  I’m also starting to figure out which of two novels to edit first, and how to get started on the spec script I mentioned.  The biggest hurdle is to tell myself “THIS ISN’T FAN FICTION” enough that I finally start believing it.  Because…well, it is fiction, and it is written by a fan, but since I’m going to be writing it in teleplay format and submitting it to contests, that makes it different.

I’m also going to get back to this blog, I swear, updating it more with my projects, my progress, and my thoughts about writing.  So let’s start with the upcoming projects:

  • Editing novel: Conqueror Worm
  • Editing novel: End of the Line
  • Nanowrimo (?)
  • Preparing short story for submission: !Div0
  • Preparing short story for submission: The Doorman
  • Preparing short story for submission: The Queen of Belmeth
  • Spec Script: The Office: The Big Debut

There we go.  All put down so that people can hold me to them.  I’ll talk about what each one actually is as I work them.  Current project: The Queen of Belmeth.