It's not that I intentionally made Jacky the only character making a major play for publication. Every time I try to work on something new, I'd get another idea to make AD better. Or for the next book, or a short story.
After finishing the second draft of AD (version 3), I made a very firm decision to take a break from Jacky. I need something new to clear my head. Hopefully when I return for round three of edits, I'll be going over it with a clear mind. It needs some work, I already have ideas on the things that need a bit of tweaking, but it's solid. No more rewrites, damnit.
To keep my mind off Jacky, I picked up a WIP I started a year or so ago, but never took anywhere because all I had was a title, some characters, and a bit of world building to go off of. I've been having struggles with it. The plot is coming together (more or less), but the character voices aren't the strong things that the cast of AD have. Add mystery (something I've never written before) and the weak character voices makes writing this book a damn challenge.
But challenge is good. Doing something so different is good. For one, I'm learning how to write a different kind of story. (Though, honestly, it freaks me out that FBL doesn't have much action in it. It's more character/mystery driven than AD.) For another, writing new things broadens the horizons, makes you look at things in a different light. Learning to come at a story from a different angle will be great for when I edit AD, because I'll probably (hopefully) see things in a different light, and be able to work a little more suspense and thrill into it all.
That being said, I need to get cracking on FBL, because I want to have the first draft finished before I start round three editing on AD.
Posts
Sweetie, what you can do is take a full week or two off from writing, let your mind clear. But also, find things to relax you. Meditate, listen to music, swim etc... but it'll help.
ReplyDelete