An Apology

If you're going to plug your own ebook, at least be honest about it.

Great post, Jools, and I'm so glad you've been back at the keyboard juicing fresh salacious fantasies for us all to enjoy. I'm sure there's not a one of us doesn't look back and cringe sometimes at earlier work. It's just a bit worrying if it's last week's.

As an educator myself, I always value the result of colleagues' research, so I look forward with great interest to reading your elucidations of Scarlett's experiences with her Professor - from a strictly professional point of view, of course.

The latest Challenge has inspired me to put pen to paper (finger to keyboard) and I'm about halfway through my story. So thank you Flopsy and Feb's for helping to get my writing back on track

After reading Jools post, I feel I must add my thoughts. I also must apologize for leaving a serial unfinished, especially since it has been hanging for over a year. coming up with a satisfactory ending just seemed impossible.

I can use the effort to pen a novella as an excuse but it turned out to be a sub par collection of random scenarios. In other words, a real pile of s**t. That was last spring and since then I have avoided my keyboard. Until I was paired with Jools for the clipboard challenge. She is 100% correct when she says teaming with another writer, especially one with a completely different style will get the creative juices flowing again. Combining our talents and sharing ideas has been a great benefit for both of us.

Making a new friend, even if she is on the other side of the planet, is an added plus. I whole heartedly recommend this to everyone in a similar situation. I hope you enjoy the result.

I understand fully. I have a computer file where I dump thoughts whenever I get them. Then when I am ready to try to start a new story I go through it and hopefully an idea jumps out. I typically have about 5 stories in progress at a time and just bounce back and forth between them if I get stalled; of course some get trashed when I hit the wall with them.

I also made the mistake of starting to post a serial before I finished writing it. Thankfully.readers caught a plot flaw I probably would have caught if I had the whole story in front of me; I had to do some tap dancing with the plot to fix things in the final parts. Never again!

On the other hand, sometimes comments give me good ideas about things to include in future parts. I had an idea where I was going with my Amarra serial when I started it, but I've drifted a bit. But I do have some notes I use to try to keep it internally consistent, including a timeline.

Heavens, I don't believe even George R. R. Martin should apologize for not being able to finish what he started. For most of us, writing is not like churning out miles on the treadmill: it relies on a certain inspiration and mood, that doesn't arrive on demand.

In terms of sparking inspiration or unblocking writer's block, however, I hear excellent things about Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way, and her daily pages idea.

All my stories have just come to me. Sometimes it just flows when I'm writing. I wrote a story that i meant to have 4 or 5 chapters. It stalled on me at chapter 13, but I just know that there is more of it out there. I just can't seem to find it. I started several more stories that I was not able to get on with. I have fragments of more stories written down, though I have a feeling that I won't be able to finish them any time soon. That doesn't stop me writing, and I've come to accept the fact that I may not finish them anytime soon. It gives me a little comfort knowing that I'm not alone in this. So when I'm reading all the stories here, I just know that some day one of them will give me the push I need. So all you authors out there - Keep the stories coming and I promise you that I'll always leave a comment.

JessicaK
Sure he should. Writing is his job! I don't always feel like cooking dinner, but cooking pays my rent. I'm a professional cook, in case you didn't know. I love it, and I'm very good at it, but doggonit, sometimes I just don't feel like doing it. But ... I kinda have to. My take on A Song of Ice and Fire's lack of progress is ... like me agreeing to cater a big event, planning the menu, purchasing all of the necessary food (and billing the client for it), getting everything ready to go in the oven ... and then deciding to blow off the event to go bake birthday cakes.

I'm finding a similar but different situation here -- I have a long-running serial that is nearing completion (Training Amarra) but I find myself distracted right now by my Mary serials. I *will* complete Amarra (I promise!) but every time I sit down to write the next part, I get stuck with my mind wandering back to Mary. There are still one or two more Mary stories I need to write before I can put that world to rest and get back to Amarra. So, apologies to my few Amarra fans, and know that I will get that story completed eventually.