February? How did we get a week into February already? Where did January go?
I don't know about you, but I've been busy reading through four novels, starting to read three more, and completely ignoring my own novel-in-progress. Why? I needed a break from my own story already! Why?
My first completed novel, THE FLOWER MAIDEN (not yet published), was written in first-person, present-tense in order to capture the protagonist's mental and emotional journey, and allow linear clarity for the reader with the many past-tense flashbacks involved. I began the first five chapters of my new Work In Progress (WIP) the same way, but have been questioning the general sell-ability of a present-tense novel after some great agent feedback (and subsequent research) for THE FLOWER MAIDEN.
Thus... I have some brain freeze and much general questioning of my own writing/story telling skills.
Instead of getting bogged down by concentrating on the WIP I'm not sure what to do with, I've been focusing my creative juices elsewhere. How? Short stories and poetry! A friend told me about a local writer's organization that's accepting submissions for an anthology, and I intend on submitting several pieces. Yay me!
I'm enjoying writing in various combinations of tenses and point of views, just to shake out the cobwebs of familiarity in my mind. I believe it's helping, because I'm starting to think about my WIP again, after taking a month away from it. I like my new short stories and poetry, and want you all to have a chance to read them! So if my submissions to the anthology are NOT printed, I promise to share them here on my website and on Wattpad!
Meanwhile - I shall take another look at my WIP, bust out another short story or two, and give myself a happy headache trying to get my poetic rhythm "just right".
To My Fellow Writers - happy story-telling, and don't forget to try a new way to express yourself creatively every now and again too!
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