Silver Linings and Such

So my plan of hitting the ground running in 2013 and writing like nobody's business has not been much of a success thus far. I have gotten some good plotting work done on Imildurin Tales, but I have been thin on actual writing. Basically, Chapter 5 is kicking my butt at the moment. I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted it to go at one point, but I shifted some pieces to be in later chapters and that left me a bit unsure as to how to proceed with it. This is a less than ideal situation and I even considered shifting focus a bit to start a new short story just to get the writing juices flowing again. I did not do that, and now I am very glad I didn't.

During lunch today I had a moment of inspiration and it was just what I had been needing. In reality, it was just a thought on a relatively minor detail in the story, but it grew into something more and ultimately was the key to unlocking Chapter 5. At least I hope so.

So, my message here is one of positivity and perseverance. The last couple weeks have not been nearly as productive as I had planned, but things are looking up now and I think I will get some good momentum going in the coming days.

On a side note, Amazon finally made Keepers of the Tallath free this week and the response has been good. It already has almost half as many downloads as on Smashwords and it got as high (that I saw) as #31 on the Amazon chart for free Science Fiction short stories. I know that is getting pretty specific but I will take what I can get.

Play Time Is Over

So, 2013 is a week old already eh? Time to get down to business! My writing trailed off dramatically at the end of 2012 (I could blame it on visiting family, but that would not be fair at all. Totally my conscious decision), and now it is time to get thinks cranking again.

I would not say that time spent not writing was a complete loss. I made a lot of mental progress and have a lot of new ideas I am looking forward to writing. I made some decisions in regards to Book 2 of Imildurin Tales that I am very happy with. I am really looking forward to writing Book 2, but I know I have a long way to go on Book 1 before I get there, and I am excited about that too.

I also made a great deal of progress on a series of short stories I am planning to write. I have had a firm grip on the first story in the series for quite a while, but I now have a pretty solid plan for where I want the series to go beyond that first story. As focused as I am on Imildurin Tales right now, I am also looking forward to starting this other series on the side in the coming months. It is quite a departure from the other things I have written or am currently working on and I think it is going to be a lot of fun.

So what does all of this mean? To be short; it is time to get to work! I have a lot of pages to fill and only myself to look to to fill them. I plan on spending tonight working on a map and outlines for Imildurin Tales. From there it is all about writing. And then writing. And then writing some more. My goal is to have the first draft of Book 1 done by the summer and I think that is a very achievable goal if I put in the work. So like I said, it is time to get to work.