NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

DISCOMBOBULATION

Many writers I know talk about resolutions, about the New Year being a New Start. They seem to be re-energized by the turning of the calendar page and the fresh year unrolling before them.

Me? Not so much. At least, not this year.

Not that I’ve ever been good at resolutions. I’d make one, and some perverse little part of me would start rubbing its hands in glee, looking for a way to sabotage it. I’ve learned not to make hard-and-fast resolutions, and to never, ever, write them down.

Still, I do have a rough idea of what I’d like to accomplish during the year, at least writing wise.

For one thing, I’d like to finish the two novels I’ve started in two separate series. I like both series, and the characters who live in them, and I really want to find out what happens to them.

I’m also part of several bundles coming up this year, for which I promised to write short stories. (Have you heard of BundleRabbit? Great bundler—check them out.) And I keep coming up with good ideas for more short stories. There’s lots of work to do.

So… why can’t I buckle down and do it? Life rolls.

An instructor used to call major life changes, life rolls. Something you couldn’t avoid that would have an impact on your writing. The life roll could be good or bad, but it resulted in you not producing the number of words you were used to.

A life roll can be anything from a death in the family, to a wedding, a new baby, or building a house.

My friend recently relocated to a wonderful community by the sea. For over six months, pre- and post-move, she did very little writing. Life roll.

So, here I am, flitting from partly-finished novel to partly-finished novel, stopping along the way to jot down ideas for other novels I’d like to write. I start writing one short story only to abandon it and start work on another.

It’s discombobulating, but there’s no point in panicking. I’m going through a transition time (see my last post). Eventually my mind will settle and I’ll get back to normal.

And when I do, watch for more book launches. J


5 comments:

jean harrington said...

I couldn't agree more, Michelle, life does interfere with our best-laid plans. Maybe it's telling us something--to relax and roll with those punches.

Anne Marie Becker said...

Life roll. I like that. I've been doing that flitting from one project to another for the past 9 months, too, as life throws stuff at me. It's frustrating that I can't seem to focus enough to finish any one thing, but I try to view each bit of writing as progress. And hey, if someday I can focus enough to finish each of those stories, I'll have a bunch of material to put out back-to-back.

Elise Warner said...

Life isn't always that bowl of cherries our grandparents talked about. Have to try and cope with the bad times. I'm concentrating on a novel and articles that pay more for the tine spent also experimenting with short stuff. Can't keep up with too much social media though-only twenty-four hours per day.

Rita said...

I feel like I'm where I'm supposed to be. Even though I don't know where that is. LOL!

Marcelle Dubé said...

@Jean: I fully support that idea!

@Anne Marie: Maybe we're just recharging our batteries, or giving our subconscious time to do its work.

@Elise: I know what you mean about social media--now that I'm (almost) retired, I hope to have a chance to work on that aspect. And marketing. And writing more stories...

@Rita: Yep. I finally feel like I'm in the right place at the right time.

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