The Balance.

I think it's more than ironic, when choosing balance as a blog topic this week, I decide to get sick. I've been trying to write this post for three days. Between hacking and sneezing it's been a rough one. :D

Currently, I am in the process of trying to get back the balance in my life. I was on a fantastic roll. I wrote everyday, read everyday and spent time in the Real World everyday (doing not so exciting things like laundry, cooking and cleaning.) I was learning so much and my writing was growing in leaps and bounds. I had a pretty neat little thing going on for months.

Then, of course, real life had to hit me in the head with a big pile of poo. My perfected system sank down into the abyss. I barely wrote, barely read and had very little time to clean. It was a mess (in more ways than one,) and while I wanted to bring back balance into my life because consistency is something I like, I couldn't seem to jump back on the damn horse.

Life, in her funny way likes playing jokes on us. She twists things around to keep us on our toes, and balance is not always possible to find. I'm pleased that I didn't allow it to get me down too much this time. I knew that eventually everything would have to settle.

Thankfully, I am fluffing out the last of the wrinkles from my unbalanced life. Balance is right over the hill (once I get over this damn bug. :D)

I am a firm believer in writing every day, even if it is nonsense. Just to keep my brain warm until I'm ready for the unnonsense to come back. Now that I'm back on kilter, I will be writing everyday, reading everyday...etc. I have a set schedule in my head that I'm going to try like mad to keep. Maybe next time, I'll be able to duck when the poo gets tossed my way and keep plugging on, maybe.

I am throwing out a question to everyone. How do you keep balance when things get rough? How do you keep on plugging away emotionally or writerly or otherwise? What works for you? I know that everyone has different methods and I'm curious to see how similar or distinct they are.

The First Short Story Published!!!!

Hey All! I finally get to announce my first publishment!!

Felicity at Flashes In The Dark!

It's a short one, but I couldn't be more tickled! I actually can't believe it's happened, but I am hoping it's a sign of good things to come. :D

Please enjoy!

Happy writing
Hinny!

The Reading

Before I became a writer I was a schizophrenic reader. I devoured books one after another, plowing through them like it was no one's business. Then I would burn out and not read, only to pick up another book four months later and wonder why I hadn't read for so long and the cycle would continue.

Since I've started writing, I've learned to savor the books, I don't worry about trying to finish a 400 page novel in one day. I understand how important it is for me to keep reading. And as much as I enjoyed it before, I have a better appreciation for how reading can help my writing.

Over the past couple of weeks I've noticed something amazing happening when I read. I pay attention to grammar and different styles more, and I can break down different descriptions of scenarios. It's more than helpful, with each word I read a little seed gets planted in my head. My own ideas start to sprout, and I've felt the stories help to start inspire. Fresh and new ideas that I know wouldn't be there if I wouldn't keep on the reading track.

A lot of published writers really promote reading, and while I've always read since I was a little girl, I finally understand why.

What are some stories that inspire you? Have you noticed how reading helps you in your writing? Let me know, I'd love to hear!

The Voices

I hear voices in my head.

They are all knowing. They let me into a world I would not have been privy to if I would not have listened to them. They are characters seeking out vengeance, sick bastards who lust for blood, or innocent bystanders who got in the way of an antagonist without knowingly doing so.

I can write and create without said voices. They usually follow if I decide to work off an idea instead of voices alone. But, when they come on their own it always makes the story a little more special. I get to know the characters, their thoughts and feelings or what actions they would pursue if they were faced with a room full of blood, realizing only moments after - they were the cause.

It's quite fun.

One could argue that yes, these come from within me. I suppose they do, but I'm always delighted and surprised by the new developments in a character or story when the piece takes on a life of its own.

The more I write, the louder the voices get. And from where I started out, with a nineteen year old male trying to take over my body, impossible to ignore.

They are apart of my creative process. I adore listening to what the characters have to tell or show me. They come out for a reason, while I'm not entirely sure why I was chosen to tell their story, I always enjoy that little trip into my head, to learn or to grow as a writer. I'm not ashamed of the voices. I indulge in them whenever I get a quite opportunity and I giggle at the unusual gazes when I tell someone who won't understand.

I wouldn't have it any other way.

The Words

I never seem to have a lack of words to write or to speak.

While I get inspiration from all walks of life, a poem or a nightmare too real to ignore, it's never difficult for me to get the words out of my head and into my computer.

That being said, I am having a slump of sorts.

I have plenty of ideas bumping around my noggin. I get them out before they blow away and find another willing to turn it into a proper story. The problem is turning them into something sensible. I'm not trying not to pressure myself but to be honest, the stack of unfinished work I have is going to topple over and crush me. Killed-dead, by a pile of my own thoughts (of course that end is somewhat appropriate for a writer....)

Every day I sit and look at the words, or a blank screen trying to take on a fresh start for my stories and honestly even though the words keep coming, they don't form a complete plot.

There are many different avenues for me to cruise down of course. I can keep picking away at the stories and then when I finally figure out what's the what, I can start for real, but most of my ideas start in an awkward place.

I need more backstory, frontstory, or I miss the interesting parts all together. My first WIP was a complete history of my characters before I pulled out the meaty bits, and realized what they were trying to tell me.

However, now I'm faced with my problem at hand, and while I'm not going so far as to call it a block (because I've proven to myself that I'm not blocked in the slightest) I'm trying to figure out why these plots are so coy with me. I'm not worried, just at an impasse. I know they will come when they come and I'll keep writing until they do (I spent too much time *not* writing to do otherwise.)

Unfortunately this slump couldn't have happened at a worse time. Shock Totem is having their monthly flash fiction contest and while I have the frame for my story, nothing else is following. I keep trying though, I'm not one to give up, I had hoped that this little challenge would jog something back into place. Now I just have to have something of substance by midnight, Sunday. I'll get some kick ass feedback and I'd love to keep growing.

For now I invite the words to keep coming... but can I get a bit flesh for my plot as well? Please?