"Write" Back Into The Thick of Things

The writing career may be shimmering back to life. An editor at a small press contacted me last month about authoring a niche cookbook. (Keep your comments to yourself—I don’t have to come up with the recipes myself which is a shame because I could so do a cookbook around “50 New and Inventive Ways To Make A Meal Out of Almond Butter.” ) Details on that project soon to follow.

In addition, I’ve been working with a close friend on dialogue for an exciting project revolving around  a supernatural drama based in Romania during the dark ages. SAMCA is a tale rooted in folklore with themes of betrayal, tragedy and heroism. The trailer is being turned into a short film with the hopes of being picked up. I’ve not previously worked in screenplays and I’m having more fun than expected working in that medium. Watch the original trailer here.

I’ve also got a couple of new book ideas. Nothing solid, but the ideas are there, percolating.

I was concerned that having a career that required I spend the bulk of my day writing would “kill” the creative juices. And some days, it does. But I’m finding for the most part that the confidence that comes from turning around a video script or commercial copy or blog post for a client on short notice and a tight deadline is bringing confidence to other areas of my writing life.

Dena

Daily Writing

For those who follow me on Facebook you've been privy to a barrage of recent posts that go like this: "Day 5 of writing complete," "Day 6 writing complete," "Still writing -- Day 7." It's a fascinating and revealing read into my daily life. I highly recommend it.  

Some of you have been kind enough to ask what it is I'm writing. The answer is everything. Literally. I have 5 or 6 novel ideas I've been half-heartedly toying with for years now, unable (or unwilling) to commit to just one. I've spent years feeling guilty over this. I'm a writer, right? So pick a book topic! Sit down! Write! 

And yet, nothing. 

Last September on our trip to Italy, I was talking to one of our guides about my seeming lack of ability to commit to writing a novel. "I'm afraid of picking the wrong novel to work on," I said. "The idea of putting all that time and effort into writing a book and then realizing late in the process that either the book won't work or isn't marketable..."

"Why choose?" he asked me.

His thought--which is brilliant-- was for me to write ALL the books. Work on whichever book I felt like tackling on a particular day. At some point, natural selection would take hold and I'd realize I had a stronger interest or  pull toward one project over another. But until then, everything was fair game.

So that's what I've been doing. Each day, sometimes for as little as 5 or 10 minutes but more often for 30 minutes or more, I've been randomly opening a novel file and hammering out a few paragraphs or plot points. I love it. All pressure to write THE NOVEL is removed because I still don't know which story I'll go with long-term. I look forward to my writing time because I'm just playing. And the thing is, what I'm writing is good. I'm seeing lots of gems when I go back and re-read it. 

At some point I'll organize all my random writings and pick a book (or two) to focus on but for now, I'm just happy to be writing. Daily. 

Cheers,

Dena