Had a long talk on the phone with my literary agent yesterday. I’ve been struggling with the new projects and I think she’s grown to know me over the last couple of years because she asked, “So, which one do you really, really want to write–besides the Norse YAs?”
LOL! She knows I want to write those the most.
It’s actually true for both series I’ve started. The worlds I created are still alive for me. I can’t wait to experience the next adventures in them. But I also want a career and am willing to work hard to get it. So my focus needs to be on the next project until the others find homes. I’m ready to jump back into either of my series still out on submission–trust me, the characters are sort of hovering there, tapping their damned, bony fingers and whistling earworms to get on my nerves–but I need to focus on the bigger picture.
So, I had two other ideas and started working on both. Problem is, I um, tend to stop and go back to each of the other series each time interest in the publishing world flares. And it has and still is. Flaring, that is. Interest flares, but it still takes time.
Can I just say it’s seriously hard some days, being so close you feel like you’re balancing on a diving board, waiting for the whistle to signal it’s time to jump. And meanwhile, seasons are changing. And there you stand, shivering in that stupid bathing suit as winter sets in…
Sorry. Went somewhere. Am back now.
Yeah, I’m frustrated. But not nearly as much as I have been. I’ve been working to rediscover the love I have for writing. The publishing industry is changing right now and so many are having a hard time dealing with it. I still hope to make it in. Or as I told Miriam yesterday, still want to wedge my sized eleven foot in the door and get that chance. 😉
So, she looked over one of my current projects and said I have something good going on but it’s missing a key ingredient. (I’m thinking my FULL attention <g>.) She suggested I come up with something to flesh out motivation and she hit it right there.
Duh. Struggling for more than one reason. If the story isn’t together, it doesn’t work for me. I’m not much of a pantser.
So, here is where I thank the universe for sending Rachel Vincent (CP Extraordinaire) my way. Our minds work in similar ways when it comes to brainstorming. We throw ideas at each other, bounce them off heads–sometimes kick a few to the ground and stomp them to death fast. (heh) But once we start to feel the right idea, we both get all kinds of worked up. It’s so fun! She helped get my stubborn, wish-my-career-would-just-start-already brain back into the creative zone where it needs to be.
I found the missing key ingredient. The excitement is there, so I’m pulling out the white board and diving in. See?
