Trying to Work on It

So, I looked back at my writing habits of late and they're not that great.  Sure I can make the excuse that I'm trying to get a manager position at my job right now (application is already submitted just waiting to hear that it is a for sure thing), but really it is just that.

It's an excuse.

I hate making excuses, but it seems like I do it a lot.  And that's really a bad thing.  Especially when I sit and watch these movies based off books or I read these amazing books and I keep thinking: I want that to be me.  My muse is ready.  It's there, I just have to push myself into that position.  I know I do.  I know that I can which is even more important.

And I really have to get out of that.  I have so many ideas and I even have one that's ready, I just, I don't want to publish it without something else waiting to join it in the next few months or however long it ends up being.  I don't want to be that person who puts up a story that clearly builds into a world and then never add anything to it.  That never seems right to me.

So, I have to fix that.  I really do.  I have to find a way to schedule time.  Motivation and reward and all of that.  Writing makes me happy.  It brings me alive.  It fills me with something that I can't explain and I refuse to give up on it and just let it go.  That means I have to come up with a plan and go for it.  I can't hold back.  And I have been.  I have been doing it for a long time.

I really need to stop that.  It's not good for me.  In the least.  I don't think it's good for anyone to hold back when it comes to what they really love.  So to writing I go.  If I keep holding back, it's gonna kill me.

I am a Horrible Person

Alright, so I am officially all moved which is great.

My friend is no longer visiting.

I have no real excuses.

Well, I am trying for the front counter lead position at work, but I don't think I can count that as a real excuse either.  I mean, after all, there is always time to write.  As anyone who peeks in at my other blog knows, I have been getting at least one book review up a week, sometimes two.  So basically I need to buckle down and do some more writing.

I do have some pretty exciting news though!

I found an old short story of mine and with some encouragement from my friends, I've decided to expand the world in it into a series.  So hopefully that goes well.  I haven't decided on a release date for the short story yet, but I'll let you know when it is ready to go up on amazon.  Until then, I'm hoping to work on some stories to build up the world itself so that I have some things ready to come after it.

Unbury the Plot, Love the Characters

Now I have to say that there is nothing wrong with writing blind.  It's a different experience and brings with it, its own kind of rewards.  You never know where the story is going and that becomes an adventure all its own.  But it isn't always that simple.  Sometimes it is actually a little tough.  Sometimes you need something, just one little point in the plot, one little twist and everything can build up around that.  It's more than just starting with a character.  That's all well and good, but there is more to it than that.

I've learned, at least when it comes to myself that some of my best stories come from focusing on the character.  Despite what people think, however, focusing on the characters doesn't mean that you're flying without a plot.  In my opinion, it just means that you do not let the plot guide the story.  You do not make it so that the characters are merely plot devices manipulated to suite the plot's needs and thus negating their ability to be.  To me, characters are alive.  They are vibrant and real.  They make mistakes and sometimes they get with someone that you don't want them to get with or they do something that you hadn't intended.

But, I think that is what makes stories so wonderful.  Watching characters develop in ways that you might have never imagined.  I don't believe that you fall in love with a story because of its plot line.  Or even because of the twists that you find it.  Yeah, those are great.  They add so much to the story that you read and what you experience, but they're not really the point.  You can have the greatest plot in the world, but if the reader can't connect with the characters in the story, it's really a moot point, isn't it?

So really, I think that a good story is a balance between the plot and the characters.  If you have a good plot with characters built to follow it, the story comes across as shallow.  If you have great characters with no plot, the story becomes dull and though people might want to force themselves to read on, usually they can't.  So you have to find the balance.  And honestly, the balance can be the hardest part at times, but it's the most fun at the same time.  So, that's what you work for and right now, that's what I'm working to find as I start off with this story.  I look at Malak, I know her and I know her well.  And now it is time to give her a plot that is worthy of her.

I hope I am up to the task.