Oh Dearie Me, What Have I Done?

That title isn't sarcastic. I do like my characters. But gee golly me, are there a lot of them. So, in Acacia, I had a main cast of six characters. That wasn't too overly difficult, since there weren't a ton of scenes with them all together. Even then, the characters had a pretty good blend of personalities, so the conversations were very fluid. Now, I have added two more characters that were only briefly mentioned in Acacia, but I think I've said that before. Also, in my current project, I have a lot of group interactions, and less one-on-one interactions. This is necessary, and I think it can be a lot of fun once I get the hang of it. However, that requires me to get the hang of it first. I don't have a lot of grip strength. Hanging onto things is difficult. Nevertheless, we persist. Good riddance.

So, remember when I was saying that I didn't need a break? How hilarious was that? I did need a break. Through attempting to start my second book at full speed, I found out that writing is a truly draining process. Especially at my age, there are millions of distractions shooting me from every direction. Clearing your mind takes time. So, at the advice of someone else I know that's writing a book, I took a break. And I survived! After a weekend in what may actually be the most beautiful place in the country, I'm feeling jazzed. I'm feeling rejuvenated, and I have a better idea of my book's setting. (Because we went to where the second book takes place.) I left my laptop at home, so the entire time I was thinking about what I could write. They were all just ideas, and I didn't have to execute anything right away. I could just sit and think. That was good for me. So, my people, my babes, my dudes, I'm ready to go. I'm ready to write like my ...

I have a deadline, okay? Well, in my head. In my head I have a deadline. It really has no bearing, no consequences, other than me being disappointed in myself. My drafting deadline is July 31st, although I'd love to be done before then. I have twenty (twenty one, including prologue) chapters and three months to write them, which means that I need to write seven chapters a month. That's a little less than two chapters a week. However, I like to plan ahead, so I round up. Two chapters is somewhere around twenty pages, so that's 2-3 pages a day. One week of May has passed, and I have written a grand total of seven complete (ish) pages. That's a little bit less than the twenty I was striving for. My lack of writing isn't due to lack of time, and it's not even due to lack of energy. It's purely lack of motivation. That's really, really odd for me. Never in my writing career, no matter how short it may be, have I not wanted to write. I've always ...

You know what? I don't mind outlining. Outlining is probably the most optimistic part of the entire book writing/publishing process. The bright-eyed and bushy-tailed author is full of hope for the future. Honestly, I'm pretty excited to write my next book. After months of harboring ideas, and especially because I haven't written in weeks, I was ready to go. So, I sat down to write my outline. I'd just gotten out of a conversation with someone about outlining, which meant that I was extra motivated. I pulled out my little, yellow writing notebook, I brought my hand to the page, my pencil nicked the top of my page, and... Nothing. Nothing happened. I had completely forgotten how to outline. I tried again. Shaking off the dust, I stood up, did some stretches, and sat back down. I took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling as I prepared. I know how to outline, I've done it before , I reminded myself. I had done it before. But with Acacia, I changed almost everyt...