Tuesday, but it feels like Monday...

I've only recently come to the conclusion that I alone am responsible for why things get difficult for me at times. I'm thinking of this in particular as it pertains writing. I write like a flying squirrel. Not like a flying squirrel writes, obviously. That's all very chit-chattery. But as a flying squirrel flies (or so I imagine, I've never actually seen one and would probably scream if I did.) I write just like that squirrel jumps off the first tree. I have a vague idea of where I'm going and where I'd like to end up but the adventure in between there and here is all yet to be determined. That's the best part...taking the leap and feeling the exhilaration as you catch hold of the next little bit of story.

That's all well and good. Until you have to go back and make sure it all makes sense for other people. In other words, the squirrel, in this case, is a cartographer for other squirrels. It's his responsibility to make sure other flying squirrels understand the path he's chosen and written down for them. They still have fun on the journey, but they trust that the cartographer squirrel has done his job and they're not going to end up at a dead end.

Wow. Talk about a metaphor gone dreadfully wrong. : ) Though some people (Stacy G.) will probably just enjoy the gratitous mention of squirrels.

Anyway, the point is this. Because I do so very little planning before I take the leap, which is sooooo much fun!, I have that much more work to do at the end. Right now, I'm trying to sort everything out from a logical side of things, which I am definitely less fond of. You have to make sure people are acting appropriate for their motivations and do things like chart societies and decide how said societies are run because things like this create motives for action. You wouldn't think so, but it's true. A restrictive society is going to have people who refuse to obey the rules because they can't get ahead by doing so. Voila! Motive.

Normally, I enjoy things like this, but it's always tough creating a society after the story has been written because it's trying to piece it together from clues instead of just creating a society and then writing the story based on the actions and reactions within said society.

So, I'm stuck. I'm thinking and thinking, but my brain just refuses to go any farther at the moment. So, how about some links instead?

I've got a writing tips article up at Once Upon a Romance. I had lots of fun writing it, as it combined the skills of my day job (copywriting) with a topic I was quite familiar with (writing) instead of something that still vaguely mystfies me (insurance/financial services). Please feel free to forward the link to anyone you think might find the article interesting or useful.

And Susan Gibberman, Head of Reader Services at Schaumburg Library, fellow writer and all around cool person, selected The Silver Spoon as part of the Novel Ideas page on their website. The page indicates that it's for books that "Readers' Advisory staff have read and enjoyed." How cool is that? Thanks, Susan!

Wish me luck at getting unstuck. I really, really wanted to have all the major issues worked out with this new story by Writers' Institute, which is in a couple of weeks! Several agents will be there and I'd hoped to maybe sneak in an informal pitch. But we'll see. No pitching if the story isn't closer to finished than this!