MIA

So I know I've been missing for a while (to the two of you that read my blog xD you know who you are!). I could go on and on with my excuses, but let's just skip that part and save us both (or three) the trouble.

So what have I been up to? Well, besides editing CON *short cheer*, I've been thinking about the next SNI I should pick to bleed cry agonize write. After all, if I stick to it, this will be the next thing I spend the next few months on. But there are a lot of factors involved. Whether I should switch back to WISTFUL (I have a new idea to rewrite it entirely). Or should I write another YA historical romance that have been on my mind for a while now. Or should it be the other paranormal one I have a vague idea about. Maybe I should write another YA contemporary romance in case CON works out *crosses fingers* and I need more from the same genre.

And as much as I hate to admit it, the market weighs in on it too. Sometimes, when I'm debating, I feel like this...

(Me being the janitor of course, wondering which SNI could make or break me while my ideas (JD and others) are staring at me weirdly wondering why I don't just pick one of them already.)

Lol. So how do you guys decide which SNI to start next?

You know you're an author when...

...ideas come to you no matter where you are. Everyone always ask "How do you get your inspiration?" I think the question is "How do you NOT get your inspiration?" Because face it, if you're really a writer, ideas come to you anywhere and all the time. (The pesky ones are the SNIs that come when you're in the middle of another story grrr...)

Just yesterday, I was at the cemetery visiting my grandpa and I started to explore the grounds. Now before you get freaked out, my grandpa's cemetery is really nice and old. There are plots that date back to 1800s that are still pristine! And each one is very intricate and embellished. I'm talking statues, iron gates, marble pathway, even stained glass in the back! Look!

Okay, let me get back to the point before you start wondering why I'm showing you pictures of cemeteries. So I noticed that some of them had tons of names on them (like twelve or more) and others (although old) had no names or only one. So I started wondering why. Was there a plague that happened that wiped out the entire family? A curse? A bitter feud? And as for the empty tombs, it could be explained by the family merely moving away. (although plots in here cost at the least 100 grand so I don't know why they would just leave it empty) Maybe something else happened like they became vampires and didn't die?

So I guess all I'm saying is that writers find inspiration everywhere. Even in a cemetery. :) Where's the weirdest place you found your inspiration?

Writer's Mountain

Cause Writer's Block is just too small for what I'm going through right now. And I'm sure every writer has gone through this many many times. It's not the plot or the story that's failing. It's the doubt. The doubt of whether the dream will ever happen. Of snagging an agent and getting published.

In my case, I keep doubting about which story to work on, worrying that I'm picking the wrong one and wasting my time. Should I revise the MG or YA? Should I work on new revisions for the YA or continue the current wip? Which will be THE ONE? Are any of these THE ONE or should I start working on the other ideas I have? As a result, I've hit a major wall. I can't seem to concentrate enough on any of them. I wish I could be one of those people that just pushes through it anyway, but I'm not. Sure, there are the good days when I get a good word count, but it doesn't balance out the many other days when I don't write. And the irony that I'm actually wasting even more time doesn't escape me. Really not a fan of it.

So finally I had enough. I closed all of my word documents I kept open, waiting to be worked on. Instead, I opened a blank page and just wrote whatever came to mind. In this case, it was another idea I had in the back of my mind for a spinoff/sequel. I know I wouldn't be able to finish this and this wouldn't even be my next project when I finish CON. But I wrote the scene in my head anyway. Just for fun.

And it helped. I don't think I'm quite ready to go back to my other projects yet, but it's relaxing just to write for fun. After all, this is what it's supposed to be for, right? To create stories and have fun with it. I think in the midst of all the querying and worrying I've forgotten about that.

What about you guys? What do you do when the stress gets to you and the writing's just not flowing?

What comes first? The Characters or the Plot?

The age old question. Or at least the writer's version of it. What comes first? The characters or the plot?

I used to think either. After all, I've had several stories that either came to me first as a plot or as a character. Then I started to see a pattern. All my finished stories came from the plot ideas while the character ideas sorta float around after a few chapters before getting thrown on the shelf. Not to say that ALL of my plot ideas were carried out. Oh heck no, not even close. But so fair it's plot: 3 characters: 0. The numbers don't lie. (Despite what I say about my credit card bill)

Even my oh so wonderful myth idea I wrote about in just the last post is a prime example. These are the characters that hounded my dreams. (And since one of the MC's looks like Kevin Zegers, I didn't quite mind THAT so much) But when I actually sat down to write the beginning or even write the outline, I realized my mind was blank. I mean, I knew everything about my characters. How they looked, acted, their secrets, how they met each other, their history, etc. But I didn't know anything else. I didn't have a major plot for them. And it refused to come to me. Just the other night I was sitting there staring at graphics of the characters and yelling "What happens to you?!?"

They didn't actually answer or not I'd be pulled away in a strait jacket right now and having to learn to type with my toes.

Of course, I know that every story needs both great memorable characters and an exciting plot. But I'm talking about the very first thought you had about your story. Is it the character or the plot that came up first?

My answer would have to be the plot comes first. What about you guys? What comes first for you?