Insecure Writers' Support Group #10

Insecure Writer's Support Group (IWSG) is a really awesome meme that you should be doing along with the rest of us writers. Unless you truly are happy with your writing and don't feel the need to vent about your insecurities because they don't exist for you. But, really.... Don't they?  
IWSG is hosted by Captain Ninja Alex at his blog, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

 

 

This month, I don't have insecurities to discuss, but rather triumphs in my writing, as of late! Well, I consider these obstacles I've overcome to be triumphs, anyway.

 

I've been so much better about writing without all the critical chatter in my head. I know I will write really terribly, at least during the drafting stages, and it seems to help. I also try to get into a very altered state of consciousness while I write, or it's just something I can do easier now, and that really helps. It's like getting the left side of the brain to turn off for a while so I can create.

 

The other thing that's been helping this issue is to say to my left brain, "Listen, I need your help, but not right now. I'm in the middle of trying to create this story and you're just getting in the way. When I'm finished with getting it all out, I'll contact you so you can help me clean up this mess. Creating is supposed to be messy! For now, please wait until I call on you. It's just too early for you to do any good."

 

That's a long talk to the brain! But, this attitude really seems to help ease that inner critical worrier perfectionist into feeling like it will get to do some work, but the part I need it for comes when I'm ready for editing and revising my manuscript. That part of the brain, that analyzing part, just doesn't know how to create. It's not what it's naturally good at, so using it only for what it is good at, editing/revising, when the time is right helps to quiet it down.

 

These days I'm feeling a lot better about my writing and it has been flowing better than it has in a long time. Soon, I'm going to clear out my schedule so I can just write all night and have no other distractions until I get this first draft finished. Instead of dreading that, I'm actually looking forward to it. I know, if I were the me of one year ago, I wouldn't even consider doing so much writing in any given day for fear of all the chatter in my head.

 

Are there tricks you've discovered that help you quiet down the perfectionist/worry wart/analyzer in your head when you write?

 

  

Happy 2014!

Is it already 2014?! Really? Well, shut my mouth. I have to admit, I always look forward to every new year because those previous years typically find me wanting and not as happy as I wish I had been.

Naturally, I have to ask myself what I hope to accomplish this new year. What will make me happy this time? I'm really hoping to finally publish an ACTUAL novel this year--for real. I need to finish writing my initial draft and do and receive all kinds of editing for it--but this year--I want to be able to put the book out there in the world to be read by real readers.

Maybe I'm not ready for this step just yet, but it's not like I'm going to publish the story today. It's not even finished. I'm hoping that by the time the book is ready, I will be ready along with it. If not, I'll just have take the plunge, anyway.

A Happy New 2014 to everyone! Along with myself and my own desires for the new year, I hope you all set your sights on accomplishing what you truly want for your own definition of happiness. Or, at least, like me, you can get started on your journey.

Peace.....

New Creepy Hollow Ebook Covers!

If you're a fan of the original Creepy Hollow covers, you'll be pleased to know that the print editions of the books are keeping those original covers. But the ebooks are about to get a facelift! Here are the brand new covers!

THE FAERIE GUARDIAN
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iTunes
Protecting humans from dangerous magical creatures is all in a day’s work for a faerie training to be a guardian. Seventeen-year-old Violet Fairdale knows this better than anyone—she’s about to become the best guardian the Guild has seen in years. That is, until a cute human boy who can somehow see through her faerie glamour follows her into the fae realm. Now she’s broken Guild Law, a crime that could lead to her expulsion.

The last thing Vi wants to do is spend any more time with the boy who got her into this mess, but the Guild requires that she return Nate to his home and make him forget everything he’s discovered of the fae realm. Easy, right? Not when you factor in evil faeries, long-lost family members, and inconvenient feelings of the romantic kind. Vi is about to find herself tangled up in a dangerous plot—and it’ll take all her training to get out alive.

THE FAERIE PRINCE
Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iTunes

The magical world is a dangerous one...

THE FAERIE WAR

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iTunes

The fate of the fae world is in her hands...

A little bit about Rachel ...

Rachel Morgan was born in South Africa where she spent a large portion of her
childhood living in a fantasy land of her own making. After completing a degree in genetics, she decided science wasn’t for her—after all, they didn’t approve of made-up facts. These days she spends most of her time creating fictional worlds for young adults. When she isn't writing, she's reading (duh!), catching up on addictive TV series, and baking things that almost always include chocolate. Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Creepy Hollow website

Rachel's Facebook page has recently reached 1000 likes, and she's holding a giveaway to celebrate! You can enter by filling in the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Which Story to Write?

I don't know if very many other authors or would-be authors, like myself, have this problem as I do. Do you find yourself in this scenario?

You think of a great idea for a story that seems unique and you get excited about it, telling others about the idea and they agree it is something they'd love to read one day. So, you start writing it and you don't get very far with your first draft before you realize your brain just won't conjure up the creativity needed for you to keep going.

You bang your head against the wall to see if that will jog the creative juices, but it is of no avail. You cannot, for the life of you, get this story off the ground. You have no choice but to put it away and think of something else entirely to write next.

My current writing project seems to be fine, so I don't think this is an issue for me right now, but this has been how my year as a writer has gone until recently. I started out writing a Young Adult high fantasy about winged people until I realized the story was boring me to tears and sounded as flat as a plank. Then, I started a sci-fi apocalyptic story about cyborgs and destructive robots only to not be able to think of what to actually write. Then, a zombie apocalypse novella that somehow got away from me and I don't even know how that happened.

I was starting to think something was seriously wrong with me because I couldn't finish anything. I still might have this problem, but I can say that I feel my current YA vampire historical novel is a project I can at least finish in the first draft stage. I have the motivation to do it and am truly loving to write the characters. Finally, although it's likely it won't be finished until next year. So, I will have spent one full year not getting a first draft finished. 

I shake my head at myself, but I wonder how unusual is this for authors. Does this happen to anyone else? I really don't see authors admitting this, so it makes me feel like it's just me who has ever gone through this. I hope I'm not the only author who struggles with picking the right story to focus on and has to sift through quite a few to land on the right one. Surely, the norm is not to come up with the perfect idea out of the blue and just sit and write the story until it is done. That would be a little too perfect for this imperfect world, right?

Do you ever struggle to find the right story to focus on?