Writing Woes

Happy Friday!

I’d like to say I had an über productive week full of writing, editing, and general goal fulfillment, but that’d be a lie.

I had an average week full of editing other people’s manuscripts, plotting two of my stories for CampNanoWrimo (fellow Campers, leave a comment; let’s be camp buddies, full of tin can and a string conversations with a side of melodramatic crying over low word counts), and reading.

One of my New Year Resolutions was to read a book a week for 2014. Yeah, I haven’t lived up to that goal. But, I’m not being too hard on myself. I endeavored on American Gods as my week two book, and I couldn’t get into it. So, it sits on my shelf, 120 pages unread …

That’s not to say I haven’t been reading. I’ve been reading a lot, but most are unpublished works I get paid to read and, as they’re unpublished, cannot review yet. But, this past weekend, I finished Tilt by Ellen Hopkins, which is a 602-page book of poems that make up a narrative.

Look for the official review next week.

My writing progress has been slow. I’m in a weird writing point where the ideas are flowing, but the follow through is abysmal. I get half way through, and my interest fizzles out.

I’m not going to say it’s writer’s block, because, well, I don’t really believe in writer’s block.

I believe my own fear of writing suckage is preventing me from committing to a story line I worry is going to fail before it gets on the page.

This is a self-inflicted problem and, luckily, surmountable.

My plan of attack is to leash my inner-editor and critic—better yet, wrap that sucker in chains and throw it off this writing ship—and finish something, anything really, by the end of March.

This plan is two-fold. A) I really do need to get something revisable so I can start shipping my work out to the masses (the last time I was published was in 2011…three years ago…ugh), and B) so I can carry that sense of accomplishment into the CampNano cabins where I will try to get my next gold star for a finished novel.

**Advice about writing hang ups is welcomed**