So my writing this past week has been pretty good. Not spectacular. Not any 6000 words a day (pffff!).
But I do have a total of 7,000 words on a new project. Even so, I have slipped into some previously bad habits of fooling around the internet, reading interesting forums, getting hooked into fascinating you tube videos, etc. Time to Get Serious again.
And another note on writing. I struggle a lot internally between wanting to write something that will hit a "sweet spot" and catch on fire, that is, a subject matter that is suddenly "hot," like vampires were just as Twilight came onto the scene or what happened with the author that we went to see last weekend, where she was told that suddenly time travel books were "in." So naturally I want to hit one of the sweet spots. Dystopian novels are really in, and I really do dig those. I feel like I have no new ideas for one of those that hasn't already been done a million times. Sadly, though, as part of that whole "Be Andrea" resolution happiness projecty thing that I've been trying to act on, my interests tend to gravitate toward things that are not overall popular. I tend to go for the darker side of fate and human nature, things that people don't really want to escape read to explore. I tend to be interested in morbid things that most people would shudder about and say, "Why do you want to read about/write about such things?" I'm not afraid of the dark, I know what goes bump in the night, and sometimes I just want to explore it with my own flashlight. But my "nice girl" side just can't. My "nice girl" side wants to write something fluffier that appeals on a mass level. So somehow I need to find a balance between the two.
In other news, have to drop sugar and flour from my diet for awhile. Long story, but hypoglycemia is knocking at the door again. So while it is very disappointing to have to give up some awesome things that I love (like J.'s amazing homemade breads and pizzas!) and cupcakes. CUPCAKES, noooo, not fair, I know from previous experiences that after a few days, I will start to feel super good and energetic once again. Also this isn't forever. By summer I should be able to have those things occasionally again!
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I have that struggle, too -- what's popular versus what's interesting to write. I say, we should try to be trendsetters, not trend followers. It's sort of like fashion -- fashion icons tend to be the people who ignore the rules and do what they like. :)
ReplyDeleteOf course, with all the focus on trends in the publishing world, this might be easier said than done. But maybe worth it?
Also, I've seen writers succeed writing the dark stuff. It's a matter of reaching the right audience -- people who want to be entertained as well as horrified.
Just be yourself, dude. If you start writing for other people or write for reasons other than because you love it, you're going to start hating your writing.
ReplyDeletePS - I wrote another blog about happiness, http://healthamateur.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/finding-peace/.
SS: You're always so inspiring! YES! Let us go forth and be trendsetters! I've decided that I AM going to start writing stories for myself again, the stories *I* want to read. You know what? I'm 41 years old and I haven't hit that sweet spot yet or even fricking finished anything, so you know what? I might as well write for myself, right?
ReplyDeleteHealthA.: Yep, right on target! It's been a few days since I wrote that post and I really feel strongly that I need to self-comfort by writing myself some stories! Thank you!