Inside My Stupid Brain
I had one of those stupid thoughts the other day, the kind that wraps my writer brain in knots.
With the release of Max settled, I looked back to my drawing board to develop a writing/release strategy that fits with the mess 2022 is becoming (undoubtedly more on that in future blogs!). And I had this panicked thought: I've only got 15 projects on the go.
That's right, only 15.
As I've mentioned before, my standalone novels generally go through a lengthy process where I write the first draft and leave it for a long, long time. It usually means the second draft is a completely different novel and it's only from then that it becomes something close to the finished product. This works as my writing process, but I'm aware it's not to everyone's tastes!
Out of those 15 projects, the breakdown is as follows:
Book 4 in the Valerie Series has a completed first draft but needs a lot of work
On to the fourth draft of one novel
On to the third draft of five novels
On to the second draft of three novels
In-progress first drafts of four novels
If I look at it like that, it seems like I'm doing so much and there's so much "on the go". So, what's wrong and why do I feel like I'm scrabbling at a locked door?
Maybe it's because I've spent a very long time lately wrapped up in the Valerie Series. I wrote the first draft of Book 4 in December and then I spent a good portion of the beginning of this year buried in the edits of Max. As much as I love those characters, I feel slightly claustrophobic in that political world given that the real political world is such a painful and horrific mess at the moment. Even as writers, sometimes we need to escape.
If I step outside the Valerie Series and books that are tangentially linked to it, I find a selection of novels that either need close edits or a complete rework. And I'm not sure I'm in the frame of mind for either of those prospects. What to do?
I recently told a fellow author not to be so hard on herself for not writing. The truth is, whatever I say to other people, I'm unable to apply it to myself. I need to get more novel drafts finished so I can keep moving.
That's where we are. So, let's see what happens next!