Writer Interrupted
This week has been an oddball experience as far as progress is concerned. Wolfkin is with my editor. Her last report indicated that she had 100 pages left to go. I got a few more chapters uploaded for review by my audiobook producer earlier in the week. I've had splotchy success making progress with my short story, but what I've written seems fun and exciting.
Today's Blog seems like a good metaphor for the work I've done on my current short story. I was late getting around to sitting down at the computer today. I tried to search for a fun image to add to the post, but I couldn't quite find what I was looking for. I settled on an image, and just as I was about to start typing, I heard the hail hitting my "office" window. I popped outside and, sure enough, there was a big old bruiser of a spring storm rolling through town. Without anything really started on the Blog, and knowing that I had dinner plans with Mom soon anyway, I shutdown the computer and unplugged what I could reach just in case the electrical part of the storm picked up (better safe than sorry). By the time I got back to the computer to type this, I realized I really had no idea what I intended to write in the first place - just a really vague concept.
Now, thankfully, I will admit that "Nine Lives" is at least a little better planned out than what today's Blog was. That being said, I've hit some interesting snags as I've been working on it.
First off, it's worth noting that I have a lackluster attention span. I've never been officially diagnosed as having ADD or ADHD (ongoing or adult onset), but if I were to have a clinician really evaluate me for the condition, I wouldn't be surprised if they checked off every box on the diagnostic form. If I can manage to sit through typing more than one or two paragraphs without getting up to smoke, use the bathroom, grab a snack/drink, or scoop the litter box, I'm having a really good writing day. Needless to say, those days are rare. Add to that the frequent phone checking I've caught myself doing lately and the problem escalates.
With "Nine Lives" these breaks seem to happen more frequently because I also use them to plot what I'm going to write next. This has been a little more difficult due to the fact that the story includes an odd storytelling device that immediately creates a nonlinear composition effort. By this I mean that instead of writing from point A to point Z all the way through (as I was able to do with Wolfkin), I already have points D, G, H, M, and Q plotted and requiring a pickup along the way. (Think of it like being out shopping for last minute groceries and getting a call from your drunk friend that needs a ride home.) This automatically slows the process down because I now have to navigate how to reach each of these points as I go and still make it seem like it's a smooth(ish) transition.
The other thing that's probably slowing me down is that I don't have a definite ending set for "Nine Lives" yet. I can't make a mad dash to the finish line because I don't know where that finish line is. I have three or four options that I'm toying with. I'm still working on the build up. I just haven't quite gotten far enough to decide which ending I'm going to go with. (Or, as I've suggested before, the characters haven't told me what happened yet. LOL)
Even so, progress is progress. I'm thankful for it and looking forward to accomplishing more. These next few months should be pretty exciting as all of these projects come to a head (hopefully) in rapid succession.
