Starting The April Writing Camp
I have been putting off my historical fiction for too long. I need to get back into the game, start editing and letting others look at my work. It's a hard choice, though. Every time I think about the outline and the rough draft, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach. What am I going to do with it? As it stands, it's a school story with Nazis. Everything is shallow. Where does the depth come from, and do I even have a right to try for depth? What is there to learn here? I am hopeful that joining a NaNoWriMo group will get some disinterested advice and eyes on it, so I can quit spinning my wheels and do something productive with it. Otherwise it is just going to sit there, quietly taunting me. The second draft is pinned to my home page, so I look at it every day and fret at it. It needs to be either discarded or finished one way or the other. It can't just stew, or I'll stew. I hate stewing.
Of course, I'll have to get off my behind and write the plot. Do some planning before April 1st, since I'll be away from my desk for Easter and I need some kind of plan before I start writing. I find having some sort of step-by-step idea of what I'm doing helps the writing by a lot. It keeps me from moseying off into weeds and keeps me motivated. I know what is coming next, so I am sitting and fretting over how long something is going to take. My inner squirrel needs to be reminded of the next step. Anyway, I hope I can write both my actual money-making stuff and my creative stuff. It will take actual commitment and time, which I hope to suddenly have in abundance without any sign that either will happen.
Wish me luck, I guess.