Someday, when Grace is long finished and I haven’t read it in years, haven’t thought about it in ages, I’m going to pick up a copy and think, “Right, the book that made me crazy, I remember this one.”
Friday was fantastic. The words flowed like they haven’t since… oh, sometime in A Lonely Magic or maybe even back when I was writing fanfiction. They just poured out of me.
But this weekend was anguished. Torture, misery, deep reflections on whether I should quit writing and what I wanted to do with my life instead. Seriously, I had a brief moment of thinking maybe I could go back to waitressing. I can never go back to waitressing. I was a great waitress, but that was a long time ago, and I don’t have nearly the stamina or patience that it would take to do it again. But it was that kind of weekend.
Today I finished the chapter I was working on. And I like it. It makes me laugh. The characters are such… people. They’re so real to me, so alive. And these are the dead ones.
I think I’ve also managed to embrace the weirdnesses. This book, which will someday, fingers crossed, be finished, is going to be the weirdest book I have ever written and that’s saying something, given the others.
I have to smile at your self-talk about whether you should go back to another job. Your words rang so true for me as well — I no longer have the stamina or mental acuity to run a business. You’re doing just fine writing. For all of your self-doubt, be reassured that you’re doing what you are meant to do and you’re doing it quite well!
Thank you! Every time I start trying to imagine what else I could do, I wind up back at doing exactly this. Even when it’s hard, it’s… right. If that makes sense.
“…embrace the weirdness…” I love it. I can’t wait cause I love weird books.
Well, then you’ll love this one. It is very, very weird! But in a fun way, I hope.
please dont stop writing it will make a lot of people very unhappy . as for grace i will buy what you have written and be happy
Thank you for the encouragement! I will keep going!!
I can hardly wait to read about Grace. Hope you already have plans for the next one also. We need a steady supply of your stories. No pressure, you understand. =]
I have such plans for the next one! It’s going to have fewer ghosts, but maybe more romance. A marriage of convenience (which I’m really excited about, because I think it’s so fun), a gothic haunted house, and an extended trip to either Universal Studios or Disneyworld, depending on which one I want to spend research time at. 🙂
Modern type gothic? I love that.
It will be gloriously weird! I’m going to have fun playing with tropes and fairy tales. I need to not let it distract me from Grace right now, though!
So looking forward to Grace! This is a great post, too, and the second of it’s kind I’ve read in the past few days, talking about the ups and downs of writing. I love when you hit the sweet spot and the story or scene comes out almost as if you’re reading it rather than writing it! I think that must be what a surfer feels when he/she catches the wave just right . . . aaaahhhh . . .