News

Well here it is, one of the most frequently asked questions from tour. What do you do on days when the writing isn’t flowing? I can tell you what I did today, because it sure wasn’t flowing. The morning was interrupted with calls and other business that couldn’t be ignored, but damn. I often find that if I don’t get any work done in the morning that I don’t get much done the rest of the day. How my morning goes is often how the rest of the day’s writing goes. I am just going to have to tell everyone on the coasts that regardless of their schedule I must write in the morning. Yeah, it’s all important, but all the publicity and new deals don’t amount to a hill of beans if the books don’t get written. I’m so discouraged today that my estimate that I’d be done by middle of September seems laughable.
I’ll feel better tomorrow, but right now, I’m tired, and grumpy, and have almost nothing to show for the day’s work. I did most of my tricks that I use when the muse seems reluctant. The muse has said, rather loudly in my head, that she can’t do a damn thing if I don’t put my ass in a chair and at least try to write. She’s right. She’s very right. I broke my own rule. I did not sit down to write at my usual time. I let other phone calls and business interview with the schedule. I know better. I’ve let it happen two days running, and every day you slide, makes it harder to climb the mountain the next time. Part of the problem is that the next scene is a sex scene. I thought I’d lost all my moral squeamishness on paper, but, apparently not. What I’ve got to decide is, is my discomfort warranted, or does this man hit some bad button I didn’t know I had. Funny how your own issues will rear their heads at odd moments.
Okay, first sit down and write. Second, keep to your schedule, whatever that is. I’ve broken both rules, and I’m suffering the consequences. Knowing I was having problems I went to my writer’s notebook and long hand. When the computer isn’t working for me, I find that something about the physical act of writing the scene out often helps. I managed to get about four paragraphs long hand. The high light of the day so far, was that the new hummingbird feeder that is at the window at my long-hand desk attracted hummingbirds. For the first time I got to sit and watch them feed. At least three different females, two of whom fought about it, but their markings were different enough that I knew they weren’t the same bird. The two appearing at once, helped clench it, but the third bird has spots of red on it. I’m wondering if what I took to be a third female is actually a juvenile male. I’ll have to look it up in one of my bird books to see if juvenile males look like females at first, many birds do, but I’m just not sure about hummingbirds. Anyway, that was cool, but it didn’t get the scene written. Of course, it didn’t help that my computer wouldn’t work. Three times I had to call for help from Jon, because it was acting flaky. Jon and Darla both warned me that my lap top was old for a lap top, and I should probably look at something newer. I, technophobe that I am, said, no. Today has made me realize that I need to trade computers before I have some sort of major crash. Sigh.
So, I wrote long hand. It didn’t really help. The only thing I haven’t done is take the work out to a cafe or some such and try that. But I have this new beautiful office, and plenty of room to wander around. Surely I can find a spot that will work for this. I don’t know. If it wasn’t a sex scene I’d do Christmas music, but sometimes I can write sex scenes to Christmas music, and sometimes I can’t. But usually when the writing is going this badly, I will resort to Christmas music. I should have known things were bad when I worked to a musical on the only day this week I managed to get any pages. Musical, then Christmas music, and hopefully by then I’ll be out of this deep funk. But I don’t know. Then I’ve got the trip to Source Comics coming up in about a week. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone, and we are very excited about the comic book, but it is another trip. I am just not one of those writers that does well with interruptions, maybe none of us do. I gotta have a few days in a row where I’m left pretty much alone on travel, business, and just write. Because in the long run, no matter how wonderful everything else is, and exciting even, if the books don’t get written none of it matters. I’ll feel better tomorrow, but right now, I give up. The dragon won today. I’m going to post this, and go get on the treadmill. Maybe a little exercise will help.