Welcome to the blog of science fiction author Eileen Rhoadarmer--where science fiction and Mommyhood collide!


Friday, March 18, 2011

Writing Update

I just realized that I haven't posted much about my current writings lately--and this is probably because I've sort of flatlined.  I've kept up with daily writing, but between all the work we've been doing around the house (with the exhaustion that brings) and my feelings of uncertainty toward my current project, I've been doing a bare minimum every day.

I decided to rework a story I'd written before I began the novel.  What existed of it didn't need much work, but one major critique I'd gotten was that one of the plotlines didn't resolve, so I set out to resolve it.  As a result, the story is now three times its original length (it was only about 2,300 words to begin with) and I still haven't finished going back through and making sure all the pieces fit together.  I didn't really know where it was going as I wrote, so a lot of things changed mid-story meaning it still needs a lot of ironing.

I hate the feeling of not knowing what to do with a piece of work, but I also don't like stopping one piece to work on another, especially when I like the general premise.  I'm worried that I'll never come back to it if I stop.  So while I worked on four different stories in February, I've only worked on one in March.  Hopefully I'll finish up a cohesive draft soon, though, and can go back to being more productive.  My whole life seems to be connected, and when my writing is slow, I feel like I experience a dearth in productivity everywhere else too.

1 comment:

DMBonanno said...

I hear you, totally hear you.

Go look up some articles on short story endings and read it with this story in mind. I'll bet it gives you some insight.

When I'm struggling with a story, I return to one of my two favorite short story writing books, scan the table of contents for what I think I'm weak on, and bam, halfway through the article, I get my answer.

Don't give up.