Working Again

Today was my first full day back into writing since the holiday season began, and it felt both strange and comfortingly familiar. I am out of practice and have had a very hard time concentrating today when I try to flesh out scenes from the current story I am working on. Conversely, when I work on journaling and just let myself sit and think, ideas are flowing all around me begging for an audience. So, part of the day was spent researching those new tidbits and writing notes for other projects. I think it will take a few days to get my groove back, per Stella.

I am so often pulled in several different directions. I love sci-fi and fantasy, and am working on several short stories in that genre. I have a book inside me about addiction and the havoc it wreaks on families, which is decidedly not sf, but that I wrote the opening scene for today. Also a big fan of African American literature, Ernest Gaines, and Zora Neale Hurston and Richard Wright and Ralph Ellison, and I want to write a book that brings that experience into the modern age and in connection with white Southern youth who try to overcome the prejudices of their ancestors. Then of course there's Lilith, who stalks me unashamedly and without end, waiting for her turn. They are all in there, begging to get out, and I feel sometimes like a tiny pinhole in a bag full of water.

I got a rejection letter for "The Question" a couple of days ago. Was disappointed, but hey, that's the game. Re-submitted to another magazine this morning, so we'll see.

I'm kept hopeful, and encouraged, by successful writers who are kind enough to blog about their writing process. Although it doesn't make it any easier, it is so comforting to hear that a well-known published author struggles with the same day to day problems as I do. Thanks Neil Gaiman, Elizabeth Bear, Wil Wheaton, and William Gibson. Thank you for giving me a frame of reference along with a healthy dose of reassurance.

09 January 2008