Sunday, June 05, 2005
When lightening strikesTorn between saying something unusually profound and just introducing myself, I have decided to just say what's on my mind. Which usually isn't anything profound, but we had a bit of excitement in our Kansas home this last week. Our house or something very nearby, was struck by lightening. I wasn't home when it happened but my kids were really happy to tell me about the sparks shooting out of the electrical outlets and the rainbow colored televisions that suffered the after effects.
I was even watching a bit of a TV program tonight about some of the one hit wonder bands. Not that I've proven myself as a wonder of any kind yet. Still unpublished and trying to just be in the right time at the right place, which obviously has something to do with lightening strikes as well in an odd sort of way. But, how does a writer manage to put their heart and soul into book after book? Obviously it can be done. More than one writer out there has managed to write more than one book, more than one GOOD book even. GOOD book being key here I'm sure. In fact, I was having a chat about this very recently. In order for our stories to be good, at least to us, we need to have an emotional investment in the story. I had that in the first story. I had a great connection with the hero and the heroine. Both seemed alive to me, both even had tiny parts of my character or personality in them in some way. The griping, fighting, angry sort of way maybe, but in a tiny way nonetheless. But that book is finished and submitted, so how do I move on?
How do I get the lightening to strike again? I think I can pass on the rainbow hues, but some sparks and magic would be nice. I think a lot of it boils down to the thing that a lot of writers have trouble with. Time. Time away from the real world where I can sink into the world I need to create for the characters I have yet to write. Finding that time is key I imagine, and something I need to give some priority in my life. Also, I think there is a little bit of the fear that nothing will ever go together quite as well as that first book. No other characters will ever mean so much. Or maybe I'm just doing what I do best and procrastinating actually getting anything written?
So, a goal for the next few weeks, to set some time aside to really work on the next story and to take a chance that the magic really can happen again. Wish me luck!
