WittyLibrarian and the Book With the Blue Cover: April 2018

Monday, April 30, 2018

Writing Motivations: Finding Something Consistent To Do

I think one of the things I look for in a writing project is a deadline, the idea that I have a goal to reach as much as I have a story to tell. I've got ideas - there's about five plots I've got bouncing around in would-be novel formats, there's eight Talents (superhero) stories on the backburner off the top of my head, just came up with a plot idea two weeks ago I haven't even fleshed out yet - but without a deadline or sense of urgency those stories just, well, sit there.

One thing that's been mentioned before and something I've finally taken a look at is this site Wattpad. It's a self-publishing submission site for storytelling, covering not only fanfiction but also original fiction. It tracks online readers so you can get an idea how many people are reading - and liking - your stories. You can publish in a serial format, meaning you can do a novel chapter-by-chapter. I'm not entirely certain of the copyright rules - if you want to pull the online work so you can go publish it as a print novel - but I think it favors the writer being able to control their ownership of work.

My Camp NaNo project may not necessarily fit this serialized format... but one of my other science fiction story ideas might.

I'm going to trying this out this month of May, see how it goes.

Sunday, April 22, 2018

Surrendering on Camp NaNo

I just can't keep up.

Writing this project just hasn't been any fun for me. I'm making this homework, and I've gotten too old for homework...

I still want to write, I want to get around to finishing this project (and Gods help me, some of the others) but right now I just can't get this alien invasion story anywhere near a finished draft.

I'm going to take a couple days to unwind, figure out what else I can do to get my inspiration back.

Sorry.

Go ahead and slap me like I asked earlier. I need the public shaming.