Jumping Back In

Blogs can't accumulate dust, but nevertheless I feel like I have to brush a thick layer of dust off this old thing before I can get started. So here it is, a figurative dusting off of the old writing blog. Swish, swish.

Hello world.

A story idea popped into my head a few months ago and I haven't been able to shake it. And I haven't wanted to. It was the first time in I-don't-know-how-long that I had a new story idea. For many months prior to this new idea, I had been whining to author-friend J.R. Pearse Nelson that my idea "well" was dry. I was beginning to fear that nothing would ever inspire me again. That sounds dramatic but that's really how I felt -- like there were no more ideas inside me.

Then it came. A story about angels and demons. That topic is not in my wheelhouse; I don't write supernatural tales, and rarely read them. But the story seed sprouted in my mind and began to bloom into a full-length tale of love and heroics. I'm totally in love with it, my new little baby. This growing idea.

For several months I've been outlining the story. Sometimes I write a little, but mostly I've just been putting together detailed outlines of each scene in the novel. I started out by writing a full skeleton outline -- a process that took me three weeks of thinking and probably five hours of writing. I've never tried to outline my stories before and I think that's why I struggle so much with my writing.

Since I'm in the writing groove, I told myself I would join ROW-80 at the start of the 3Q round, in July. But then I realized, why wait? I have a writing goal and there's a flexible community of writers just waiting to encourage and advise and inspire me! So here I am. After a year and a half of watching the ROW from a distance, I'm jumping back in as a participant.

My goal is small and simple: 1,200 words a week. 

From now until I feel like I can reasonably expect more from myself.

Wish me luck! And good luck to all of you!