writer’s block

Photo credit: StartupStockPhotos on Pixabay

Hey guys, welcome back! I am in shock that June is over. I mean, is it just me or did you also just blink and it was done? As someone who feels that Summer is the equivalent of living on the surface of a volcano while eating razor blades, the faster these months go the better. (Basically, I need Fall, I need Fall now!) Even though this is my least favorite time of the year, I can usually deal with it. With my very odd schedule of sleeping during the day, I miss most of the heat. However, my AC this year has decided to only churn out the minimal amount of coolness and I’m currently sitting in a room with both the AC and a fan on and it is still 84 degrees. But I digress…(sorry, just needed to get that out). 😬

This past week I’ve run into the proverbial wall that I’ve been afraid would come for some time. If you’ve been following along here, you know that my writing has been going pretty smoothly so far. I’ve gotten into a routine, a rhythm, a wonderful flow of typing, creating this story of mine and I’ve been so happy with it. And then…

I hit a chapter that is important to the plot. Like, super important to the plot. I wrote it out, let it get out of my head and then went on to the next. After I put everything away for the day to get ready for bed, that one chapter was replaying in my mind. I didn’t like how it panned out and the thing is, a good portion of the next chapter very much depends on the bad one.

So, ok. That night I went in and reread it. I could see where it went off the rails. I make a copy of it, (I write each chapter individually for just such an occasion) and rewrite much of the thing. Go on to write the next two and ok, I think I’ve got it under control. I usually print out a chapter after two edits but kept this one off to the side for now because I was excited about where the rest of the story was going.

In the back of my mind though, that one plot point was just not doing it for me. If it was a case of it being a sort of side story or one for a secondary character, I could forgive much of it for now and continue on. However, this is a crucial storyline and one that needs to be told with accuracy.

This has been added to the routine. I need time each night now to research how this scenario should play out. Granted, I normally love, LOVE researching anything. But I painted myself into a corner with this one. A ‘said in passing’ character trait early on, has now become important to the story as a whole. The problem here is that it is not something that I am knowledgeable about and therefore, my search history is now one that is unrecognizable to me.

By the way, I’d like to mention how hard it is to talk about this without giving anything away! I’m trying so hard not to reveal anything about my book, so to talk in generics is proving to be quite a challenge.

I recently started a booktok (under NewChapterCove) and have started to follow a number of authors. Not just to support them, but to also see if I’m alone with a lot of my journey. I saw a post yesterday where this particular writer said something about how he looks at his screen funny when his character does something he wasn’t planning on. I COULDN’T AGREE MORE! My characters have taken on a life of their own and for the most part, I run with it. But now here I am, over 40 chapters in now and scrambling to figure out this one scene that I just need to move past to get on with my life.

Which of course means that this has become my panic chapter. That chapter in a book where the reader goes, “seriously? This is where it’s going?” Said with all the sarcasm that one could muster btw. Which of course, is a nightmare for any author.

With this happening, I’ve decided to put it aside for now. I have so many other things I’d rather be writing, the next few ‘days’ in the story that I want to continue with and can’t rewrite that one nightmare chapter until the rest of this is out of my head. Only then, will I be able to rewrite the sequence of events to have this all make sense and fit with the rest of the story. Or so I hope.

So this is where I am now. With these now higher chapters, I’m still trying to work out how this will wind down even though I really don’t want this book to ever end. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing it and it has also become a special escape for me every night. The thought of extending it to a sequel or series to keep it going is still up in the air right now. I can’t think that far ahead until I can work out this rather brazen plot betrayal of mine.

And that is where I will leave you for today. I thank you so much for reading and following along with my slight freak out and hope that if you are celebrating the 4th of July, that it is fun and most of all safe! (Leave the doggies at home too. Fireworks are the leading cause of the most lost dogs of the year.)

Until next time folks…be good, be kind, be you!

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If you’ve gotten this far, I thank you and will see you next time!

‘Tis Friday folks and that means, we’re back! Well, I’m back and I hope you are too. 🙂

It has been a week and one I’m kind of happy is over. To get it out of the way, I finally tested Covid negative but still have some kind of bronchitis type of thing going on. So my writing has been an afterthought. To say I’m not disappointed in myself for that would be an understatement, after all, losing an entire week of writing anything is not ideal, but I have been creative in other ways so at least my brain hasn’t totally turned to mush!

I’ve mentioned a few times that while I do other things, whether creating a new design or even something as simple as making dinner, my mind frees up for figuring out where my next chapter is going to lead. I have to admit that writing a sequel to my first book (whose editing process is also just lagging behind) has been more challenging than I anticipated. Mostly because I have memory issues and trying to remember all character names and storylines including background stories, has been slowing me down a bit. I have to keep going back to the original manuscript to make sure I’m keeping the flow and the style the same as well as all the details. My neurologist would be so proud. Lol

I think that so far I’m succeeding in keeping the tone the same. I have become very protective of this little world I’ve created and while I’ve written about many different things across many genres in the past, making sure that this series of mine creates a world that the reader will want to come back to is my sole responsibility. The problem though, is the plot of the second book.

I had said in a previous post that I was so happy because I finally figured out where this particular story was going. Well, the celebration was a bit premature! I’m currently rereading a series I had read last year because the next book just came out and I wanted to refamiliarize myself with the characters. As I got to one of the books, all of a sudden I realized that what I had come up with for my own series was eerily similar to something that happens in that book. A major faux pas if ever there was one!

Let me be completely clear here…I have NEVER stolen an idea from another writer in my life! I think I’ve just read so much over the past year and a half that trying to remember what I’ve read and what I haven’t are getting mixed up. Hey, it happens and I’m sure with the millions of books out there, there are certainly books that have similar themes and plot points just like the movies. But this was a little too close for comfort and now I have to rethink the main plot for this second book of mine. The one good thing here is that I found out when I did! Had I not reread this series, I would have kept writing my own book thinking I’m all kinds of original and it would not have gone over well once it got to the public. So let’s hear it for rereading books! Woo-Hoo! (Have I mentioned I’m on a lot of meds?)

Ok so NOW what? Well, now I have to go back and rewrite a whole bunch, but again, not the entire book. I’m only about a third of the way in and fixing that will be much easier than having to fix an entire book. So really, I’m good with that. I also now need to figure out where my characters are going. It’s funny, as I’m writing this post I’m realizing that this week off from the book has been ideal! Had I been writing, I would have kept going with my original (ok so not so original) idea and all of it would have to be scrapped. But I haven’t been writing, I’ve been reading and because of that, I actually ended up saving myself from the inevitable consequences! So alrighty then. Breaks, I guess, can be a good thing!! (So are breakthroughs apparently!)

So what exactly have I been working on? Well, I created a bunch of new bookmarks for my shop and finally fixed the printer settings to get them as bold and bright as they look on screen. Then proceeded to reprint old ones out so they look better. Now I just have to cut and laminate them which is a lot of work, but at least they look the way I intended them too instead of muted versions of what I envisioned. I’ve listed a bunch of new vintage and estate pieces on eBay and took tons of pics for lots of new stuff to add in the coming weeks. I created two new blank notebooks for Amazon and just waiting for them to go live before I can put them in my new linktree shop. I finished reading one book, read another book and am now a third of the way through a third book since we last met up here…great thing about being sick, you have time to read! And I was also counting down to Opening Day of the 2025 MLB season!

I am a diehard third generation Yankees fan and proud of it. I make those around me who hate baseball regret they even know me throughout a season. I have very strong opinions on the game and the players and especially the management (please oh please fire Boone and Cashman). Now, having said all of that…what I do not do. I never trash talk on someone’s social media posts. What I mean by that is, let’s say I post something about a game. For example, I like to post about who just hit a home run. And say, a Red Sox fan (just for fun of course) decides to comment on my post with something nasty. It makes me crazy because I never do this to them. NEVER. To me, when you post something that makes YOU happy, I don’t go and tear it down. And while I may not like the Red Sox, I am a BASEBALL fan. I can respect other teams and player’s efforts. Hell, I loved watching Big Papi do his thing when he played! I get it’s all part of the sports world but you still should have respect.

Trash talking and such? I’m more for doing that in person. You’re out at a bar watching a game. Guy next to you likes the opposing team, you have fun with the back and forth, right? But you are right there. In person. It’s all in fun and you can hear the tone of the other dude saying stuff. Online, there is always room for speculation and misunderstanding. I’m also not seeking out the guy standing next to me, whereas on social, you can just let the post pass and move on. Once you comment, it is deliberately baiting that poster. Unfortunately, we see it too much these days with the way things are now. Which is the problem of social media in general and that’s for another day and a lot more meds. I’ve even had it happen with just posting something as innocent as “hey the flowers are up today!” No kidding, people will hate on all of it. So now that I’ve just deleted a two paragraph rant on that subject, let me just say this…baseball is back and I’m happy!

Baseball and cherry blossoms just sum up Spring for me. That plus tulips and daffodils. Ok, so the four of them sum up Spring for me! I used to hate this season. As a brutal allergy sufferer, all I could see was the pollen aspect. But in the last few years, I’ve grown to love it. January thru March in the Northeast holds many a gray, lifeless day. We have lost the colorful holiday lights and are left with cold, cloudy skies and brown lawns. And then suddenly we see something pop up out of the ground. Maybe a crocus or we see the beginning buds on a tree. We see the first robin of the season and as our state’s bird, we have tons of them here, all starting to sing their songs sometimes as early as 4am. It is life regenerating in the most literal sense and for us humans, it means new opportunities ahead. New days to get out there and breathe in the fresh air. Take in the sounds. See the colorful flowers that are washing away the gray, cold days. As a Fall person, to me, Spring is the closest to my favorite season as I can find. There are colors to be seen, it is not oppressively hot and there are still cool, crisp nights to be had. Fall leaves have their brief window of time to show off their bright, beautiful shades of reds, yellows and oranges while Spring tulips (my favorite flowers) are also given just as short of a window to give us their pinks, purples and in their case, multitudes of colors before disappearing for the rest of the year. The similarities of the two seasons are there, you just need to stop and take them in. Seeing the new flowers and such can make a bad day much, much better. 🙂

Just one more quick thing before I let you go…I will be adding more to my linktree shop and also want to remind you of the big Amazon Spring sale going on now and appreciate any click through on my affiliate links that help support the site (and me). Any relevant links will always be at the bottom of my posts as I never like to inundate my readers with tons of links or ads if I can help it. Oh and if you come and follow my FB page for the site, new phone wallpaper freebies will be going up in the next few days!!

And with that, I will leave you for now. As always, if you’ve made it this far, I thank you for once again putting up with my rambling. I hope I’ve given you at least one smile this week as well as some things to sit and ponder…but in a good way of course!

Thanks for hanging with me again this week and I hope you all have a great weekend! Until next week…keep writing, keep creating and keep motivated!!! 🙂

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Linktree shop: linktr.ee/promosocially

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My vintage and estate jewelry listings can be found when you hit the eBay tab in my StuffWeFind linktree: linktr.ee/stuffwefind or my ad block to the right.

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My bookmarks, stickers and soon, art prints on Etsy (for now): linktr.ee/stuffwemade

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Thanks all. Keep being YOU!