Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Brick Wall Part Two

Brick Wall Part Two

I'm twenty-six pages into my WIP and I've hit a brick wall. And it's a biggie. I don't like it. There is no spark to it.

Nienke (Hi, thanks for stopping by) made a great point about the wall. She suggested that perhaps I was more "in tune or in love" with my earlier stuff. Yes, I was. I wrote my paranormal and followed it with a sequel. They flowed so well, the characters were so great. I wanted everything I wrote to be as easy. But nothing is ever the same.

Four or five months ago I would be swearing in frustration. Well, I am swearing in frustration but mostly because my kids are doing their damnedest to drive me insane. They are doing a good job. Anyway, I feel more able to see what it is that is missing in my WIP. Unfortunately, it isn't something that can be fixed. So back to the old drawing board. I'm infamous for this. I want my WIP exactly a certain way from the outset. While I am forgiving of the typical errors in a WIP, I want my story set and the flow in motion right out of the box. (Pardon me while I yell at my kids, did I mention they are driving me insane?)

In this particular WIP, I needed a sense of danger and I'm not feeling it. I need that feeling from page one. And I really want it to come from the heroine. So I need to re-think my beginning and start again. But I see it as a minor frustration. I remember a time last year when this particular wall would look too daunting. I feel like I'm moving furniture around the room trying to find what feels right. This is about a sofa-size problem, I'm going to have to strain, but I can do it. Not like an oak entertainment center which requires help.

So I feel like I know what I need to do, what I intended to do all along. Hopefully it won't be too painful.

Wanted to say "hi" to Stephanie, thanks for stopping by and offering your encouragement.

Over at the other blog

I have a couple of new recipes up over at Search for the Good Life.