Lost

The other day, I was sad to discover that I can’t find one of my old stories. Remember how last week one of my goals was to look through old projects? This was the one I was intending to revise this month.

But it’s gone. I don’t know when this happened. I absolutely backup all the stories that I intend to keep, but somehow this one got left out, although I don’t know when. Possibly when the AC adapter on my last computer crapped out—which, if true, means it still exists on a computer I can no longer turn on. Or it could have happened even earlier than that, when aforementioned computer needed to be reset and I lost a bunch of files (although I can swear I’ve seen it since then).

It all really sucks because I liked it a lot. I wrote it during NaNoWriMo back in…2010? I think that’s it. I’m pretty sure it was the one I wrote right after I started this blog. It reached the 50K mark to win, but most of that was filler that I ended up cutting, so I think the final word count was around 35K. I never really knew what to do with it, but I figured I could take a look at it. Inspiration could strike and I could expand it into a proper novel.

Except, you know, it’s gone. So many parts of it are still clear in my head, so I could completely reboot it, but it won’t be what it was. Not that that’s necessarily a bad thing, since I’m a more experienced writer now. But even so, it wouldn’t be the same.

Anyway, I’m bummed about that. Have you ever lost any of your stories? Or anything else important? What did you do about it?

August Goals

Wow. July is done already. My birthday is this month, and just a few months after that, 2015 is going to be over. Am I the only one who feels like time sped up, like, a lot?

Anyway, goals. Let’s see how I did.

July Goals

1. Figure out what I want to do with the fantasy idea that I have. Obviously I want to write a book, but I have to see about having the time!

Hey, I did this! Part of me still thinks it’s a good idea, but of course there’s another part that says no, it’s too cliché, it’ll never work. Sometimes you just have to fight off that voice.

2. Work on my other projects and hopefully make enough money to, you know, live.

Yes, I did this. And I’m still alive, so I guess that’s something.

3. Start working on extra post ideas because next month is August and you know that’s vacation month. And my birthday! WOOOO!

And I did this, too. Wow, I’m really on fire. I think this has been my most successful month yet!

I did really well this month. That’s definitely a confidence booster.

August Goals

1. Try to write 10K on one of my WIPs. I hope I have the time! Maybe during my vacation.

2. Get my birthday week posts ready. These will probably be stick figure comics : )

3. VACATION!!!!!! Do I have enough exclamation points?

I think this month is totally doable. It sure is hot, though. So what are you up to this month?

New Ideas

It happened again. I have been lured away from one WIP by the seductive beauty of a Shiny New Idea. It is simply irresistible. I have no choice but to go down this path and see if I can’t make my way through it.

In truth, I need this project. Even though I like it, I’ve been struggling to write my horror WIP. I’m not going to abandon it (again) (probably), but I do know that my muse is yammering in my ear about this one and I’d like to keep her happy and hopefully get something publishable out of it. It’s not like I’m on deadline, so I might as well take advantage of it.

Writing is…a complicated beast. I know what works for me, and I know that might not work for other people. I know this is something I have to do. And I plan to enjoy it : ). So you might have to put up with increasingly pointless posts (like this one) while all my creativity is being used up elsewhere. Fair warning.

Happy writing!

Switching

Recently, after finishing my read aloud of MALICE, I realized something: I was sick to death of it. Not that I think it’s bad or I’m giving up on it. I just can’t stand the sight of it for a while. I need a break. Well, from it.

So, this means I’m going back to REMEMBER. Remember that (pun intended)? I started on MALICE several months ago because I realized I was tired of it. One of my goals for this month is to finally get around to doing the read aloud for book R that I made a goal for months ago. I intend to start this week, barring any unforeseen circumstances, like a mysterious bout of laryngitis or something. Knock on wood.

I like having multiple projects to work on for just this reason. Often I get to a point where I need a break from a book I’m working on. What better way to take said break than by working on something else, something completely different? I was so glad to put REMEMBER away for a while—now I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. Man, I hope this feeling lasts.

Question time: what do you do when you’re sick of your WIP? Do you move on to something else? Take a break from writing entirely? Do you think ending a blog post with questions is a cop out or a good way to elicit responses? I realize that last question is a little off topic, but sometimes I just get curious.